Handpainted / Pyrography French Decorative Tray, Kaysersberg, France

Collectibles : Decorative Arts : Pyrography : Tray

 

Sweetpea Cottage is offering this marvelous, quaint souvenir tray of Kayserberg, France, a town in Alsace. It incorporates many different qualities that appeal to the avid collector. Intended to be a serving tray, it would look best hanging on a wall in a special location. It measures 12 1/2 inches, by 8 1/2 inches, from the outside edges of each handle it is 13 /34 inches. It stands about 1 inch tall at the handles. The frame has a pyrographic design burned into its edges and handle. The frame is constructed out of wood that appears to be quartersawn white oak. The surface of the wood has been finished with shellac that is starting to crackle and peal off.

Underneath the glass surface of the tray there is a painting of Kaysersberg, done on a piece of wood. Part of the design appears to be pyrographed and then carefully painted over with pastel watercolors. In the lower left corner, in white paint, there is the identification “Kaysersberg” and the lower right corner it says “Souval”. The colors are still bright.

The one problem with this item is water damage that appears along the edges at various spots. Apparently, somebody used the tray once, spilled something and the liquid ran under the glass. The damage has been restricted to the edges and does not damage the main part of the picture. The damage is primarily some running of the watercolors, but there does appear to be something adhering to the underside of the glass in some of the areas where the running took place. The water damage is also evident on the back of the tray as watermarks. There is a paper label on the back that says Decor Main Souval Marque Deposee. Loosely translated it means “hand made by Souval.” Although we have located information about Souval on the internet, none of it seems to logically relate to an object such as this. Check the photos carefully and you will recognize how quaint this piece of art is. It clearly belongs on the wall and should never be used as a tray. Even with the damage, this piece will catch your eye and make you smile. It is tough to date, but given the pyrographic design, it is probably from the 1920's.

You can buy with confidence from Sweetpea Cottage. We stand behind everything that we sell. You may return your purchase for any reason and receive a full refund of your purchase price minus the cost of shipping. Simply notify us via email within three days of having received your purchase that you intend to return it. Once it is returned to us in a timely fashions, then we will issue the refund. The shipping for this terrific little piece is $8.00.

Item ID: CPT-70