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Ernest Gerlach started a small metalcraft shop in Evanston, IL, a suburb of Chicago, in 1914.  Gerlach, who had trained at the Marshall Field & Company Craft Shop, named his operation after Benvenuto Cellini, the 16th Century Florentine goldsmith and mannerist sculptor.  Most of the shop's early items were produced by David and Walter Mulholland, whose Mulholland Brothers shop was also in Evanston.

 

After World War I, Gerlach's brother Walter joined the company, and the two hired metal workers from Europe, including Hans Grag, whose signature often appeared along with the Cellini-Craft mark on holloware the company later produced.

 

During the Depression years, when silver-buying clients were scarce, many silversmiths went out of business.  Walter Gerlach and Hans Grag survived by setting up Cellini-Craft and creating a line of modestly-priced handwrought aluminum objects they named Argental (from the French word for silver).  This plebian effort quickly became the company's main focus, rather than the manufacture of silver items and jewelry.

 

Early Cellini products were elegant and accomplished.  But the company abandoned

its roots when it changed its focus to low-end items like the cast aluminum spoon below

 

Cellini cast aluminum basting spoon with bowl rest on underside.  14" L and 2-3/16" W.

 

In 1957 the Randahl Company purchased Cellini Craft, partly to acquire its metalsmiths.  It made Argental items until 1965, when Randahl's dies and designs were purchased by Reed & Barton.  Randahl eventually purchased what was left of Cellini in 1969, and ended the creation of custom metalwork.

 

Early Cellini products, especially those done by the Mulholland brothers, were very accomplished and Kalo-like.   (Early on the Mulhollands produced a great number of excellent silver objects, but also decided to go downscale, and bought the Aurora Silver Plate Company, which produced interesting but decidedly inferior pieces.)  Many of them are decidedly Scandinavian in design.

 

The aluminum holloware shown below was all made by hand, largely in the Danish taste, and does show a fair amount of style and invention.  Note that several pieces are marked with an MW -- these were distributed by Max Willie.

 

Max Willie also distributed Argental aluminum products made by Shup Laird.  A Laird box is below.

 

Item

Description

Size

Mark

Cellini candlesticks, pair (2), aluminum, Argental line, with oval-rimmed bobeche atop two flower-shaped bases, with four small ball feet on bottom.

Candlesticks, pair (2), aluminum, Argental line, with oval-rimmed bobeche atop two flower-shaped bases, with four small ball feet on bottom.

5" L x 3-11/16" W and 2" H

Cellini aluminum candlesticks mark

Console set, aluminum, low wide bowl and two candlesticks, which have four small pointed feet made by bending part of the lower base under.

Bowl:  12-1/2" L and 8-13/16" W

Sticks:  4-15/16" L and 3-5/8" W and 1-13/16" H

Cellini tray, round, aluminum, with 5-3/4" square ceramic tile inset at center.

Tray, round, aluminum, with 5-3/4" square ceramic tile inset at center.

16-3/4" W and 1-3/4" H

Cellini aluminum tray mark

Cellini tray, round, aluminum, with 5-3/4" square ceramic tile inset at center.

Tray, round, aluminum, with 5-3/4" square ceramic tile inset at center.

16-7/8" W and 1-3/4" H

Cellini aluminum tray mark

Cellini tray, round, aluminum, with 5-3/4" square ceramic tile inset at center.  Unusual scroll handles.

Tray, round, aluminum, with 5-3/4" square ceramic tile inset at center.  Unusual scroll handles.

20" W across handles and 16-13/16" W across middle and 2-1/16" H

Cellini aluminum tray mark

Cellini tray, round, aluminum, with 5-1/2" square, floral ceramic tile inset at center.  Note "Artgental" spelling error on underside.

Tray, round, aluminum, with 5-1/2" square, floral ceramic tile inset at center.  Note "Artgental" spelling error

16-1/2" W and 1-15/16" H

Cellini aluminum tray mark

Cellini tray, round, aluminum, with 5-1/2" square, iridescent deep blue ceramic tile inset at center.

Tray, round, aluminum, with 5-1/2" square, iridescent deep blue ceramic tile inset at center.

16-1/2" W and 2-1/8" H

Cellini aluminum tray mark

Cellini tray, rectangular, aluminum, with 5-3/4" square ceramic tile inset at center.

Tray, rectangular, aluminum, with 5-3/4" square ceramic tile inset at center.

19-1/8" L and 14" W and 1-5/8" H

Cellini aluminum tray mark

Cellini bowl, covered, aluminum, on four ball feet, with large dark glossy blue tile set into removable top and finial through the middle.

Bowl, covered, aluminum, on four ball feet, with large dark glossy blue tile set into removable top and finial through the middle. 

11" W and 9-1/8" L and 5-1/2" H

Cellini aluminum bowl mark

Shup Laird Argental cigarette box, aluminum,  with removable lid and large dimensional applied flying goose figure on top.

Shup Laird Argental cigarette box, aluminum, with removable lid and large dimensional applied flying goose figure on top. 

6-3/4" L and 3-7/8" D and 1-7/8" H

Shup Laird Argental mark

 

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