Kem Weber

Kem Weber designed this vase for the Friedman Silver Company in Brooklyn, New York, in 1928. Weber, who was then living and working in Los Angeles, went to New York in January 1928 to make arrangements for his display of interiors (a full six-room apartment) at the Macy’s “International Exposition of Art in Industry,” slated to open in the late spring of that year. While there, he met with the managers of Friedman’s. After returning to California, he produced two lines of silver-plated housewares for the company, “Silver Style,” with telescoping forms, and “To-day,” with reeded bases. Most, if not all, of the extant pieces from the two lines appear to have been executed in 1928 or 1929.

This vase, from the “Silver Style” line, is a rare example, erroneously stamped with a “To-day” mark. The “Silver Style” line included several other designs, including a cocktail shaker, a four-piece tea set, a “bread or cake stand,” a butter dish, a fruit bowl, a covered vegetable dish, a bon-bon dish, a flower basket, and another, squat vase with a wider base. The Weber archive at the University of California, Santa Barbara, preserves photographs of these pieces. It is unclear, however, whether all were put into production; the photographed examples in some instances may merely be prototypes.

Weber included some of the Friedman pieces in an exhibit of his work at the California Art Club in 1929. A review noted that “fifteen pieces” were then on the market (though without specifying which), with others forthcoming. No other designs from the company appeared, however. It is uncertain whether Friedman, possibly disappointed with sales, suspended production, or whether there were other reasons. The onset of the Great Depression at the end of 1929 probably played some role in Friedman’s decision to stop making the designs; it is also possible that Weber’s pieces were too far in advance of public taste.

   - Christopher Long