E.G. Zimmermann Hanau Art Deco Portoro Marble Three-Piece Desk Set

A three-piece Art Deco desk set in dramatic Portoro marble — the prized Italian "black and gold" stone quarried near Portovenere on the Ligurian coast — by E.G. Zimmermann of Hanau, Germany. The set comprises a pen tray with integrated inkwell, a rocker-style ink blotter, and a letter holder with nickeled metal arch supports. The pen tray features a fluted channel along its length and houses a square columnar inkwell with a removable ceramic insert and turned wood stopper. The maker's brass cartouche, stamped E.G. ZIMMERMANN / HANAU, is affixed to the underside of the pen tray base.

E.G. Zimmermann was a long-established Hanau metalwares and decorative-goods house, founded in the mid-19th century and active through the interwar period when Hanau was a leading center of German silver and bronze production. Desk sets of this caliber — pairing rich figured marble with restrained nickel mounts and clean geometric forms — represent the firm's interpretation of the international Deco style, ca. 1925–1935. The deep black ground laced with golden veining gives each piece its own painterly composition.

CONDITION

Good. The pen tray shows a chip to the front edge molding as pictured, and the underside displays rust/oxidation staining around the original felt feet. The blotter retains its iron rocker and requires replacement blotting paper. Letter holder shows light tarnish to the nickeled supports. Marble surfaces are otherwise sound with no cracks observed.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Pen Tray with Inkwell: 3" H × 9.5" W × 5.5" D — 5 lb 1.9 oz
• Letter Holder: 4.5" H × 6" W × 3" D — 1 lb 3.3 oz
• Ink Blotter: 2" H × 6" W × 2.5" D — 1 lb
• Materials: Portoro marble, nickeled metal, ceramic inkwell insert, turned wood stopper
• Maker's Mark: E.G. Zimmermann, Hanau (brass cartouche to underside of pen tray)
• Origin: Germany
• Period: Art Deco, ca. 1925–1935