1913 Gebrüder Baumann German Enamel Pharmacy & Laboratory Vessel

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Description

Rare and unusual Gebrüder Baumann German enameled vessel, precisely dated June 1913 through the manufacturer's date-code system.

The underside bears … Read more Rare and unusual Gebrüder Baumann German enameled vessel, precisely dated June 1913 through the manufacturer's date-code system.

The underside bears the historic Gebrüder Baumann factory mark along with the code 613. In correspondence regarding this particular piece, a Baumann representative/researcher confirmed that “June 1913 – yes correct.”

The unusual form does not appear in the known Baumann product catalogs. However, Baumann also manufactured enameled products for other companies, which may explain why this particular form is absent from the firm's standard catalogs.

When shown photographs of the piece, the Baumann contact noted that it resembles an “Abdampfschale,” or evaporating dish, a type of vessel used in pharmacy and laboratory settings. Such vessels were used for heating liquids to encourage evaporation, concentrating solutions, recovering dissolved substances, and preparing small quantities of pharmaceutical products.

Because the identification as an Abdampfschale was presented as a possibility rather than a definitive factory identification, this piece is conservatively described as a possible pharmacy/laboratory evaporating vessel.

The blue-and-white enamel construction gives the piece wonderful early-20th-century German industrial character. Its unusual form makes it equally appealing as an antique apothecary collectible, laboratory/scientific artifact, industrial décor piece, or display vessel. See less