Set of 2 medium sized Antique Art Deco porcelain serving plates from KAHLA.
On 27 August 1844, Christian Eckhardt started the porcelain production site in Kahla with 20 employees. The factory quickly developed into a leading manufacturer, first in Thuringia and later in the whole of Germany. In 1914 the porcelain factories in Arzberg, Hutschenreuther and Schönwald were affiliated. The GDR made the porcelain factory in Kahla into a state owned operation and furtherexpanded the production site. Over the course of time it became the headquarters of “VEB Feinkeramik”, which included a total of 17 porcelain factories in 1979. After the fall of the wall the trust privatised the company, which however had to file for bankruptcy two years later. In 1994 it was refounded as KAHLA/Thüringen Porzellan GmbH by Günther Raithel as a majority shareholder. Since 2000 KAHLA is held by the Raithel family. In 2014 the Kahla brand celebrated its 170th anniversary. The company employs about 300 workers.
Art Deco is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before World War I. It influenced the design of buildings, furniture, jewellery, fashion, cars, cinemas, trains, ocean liners, and everyday objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. It took its name, short for Arts Décoratifs, from the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes held in Paris in 1925. Art Deco combined modern styles with fine craftsmanship and rich materials. During its heyday, it represented luxury, glamour, exuberance, and faith in social and technological progress. From its outset, Art Deco was influenced by the bold geometric forms of Cubism and the Vienna Secession; the bright colours of Fauvism and of the Ballets Russes; the updated craftsmanship of the furniture of the eras of Louis Philippe I and Louis XVI; and the exoticized styles of China and Japan, India, Persia, ancient Egypt and Maya art. It featured rare and expensive materials, such as ebony and ivory, and exquisite craftsmanship. The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, and other skyscrapers of New York City built during the 1920s and 1930s are monuments to the style. In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, Art Deco became more subdued. New materials arrived, including chrome plating, stainless steel and plastic. A sleeker form of the style, called Streamline Moderne, appeared in the 1930s, featuring curving forms and smooth, polished surfaces. Art Deco is one of the first truly international styles, but its dominance ended with the beginning of World War II and the rise of the strictly functional and unadorned styles of modern architecture and the International Style of architecture that followed.
- Made in Germany
- Measurements – 26 x 17 cm
- Manufacturer – Kahla
- Vintage era – Art Deco (1930s)
- Material – porcelain
- Condition – good / signs of age / use appear /scratches on the surface / 1 chip on the 1 plate’s bottom – see images / scratches on the golden trim / see photos.
