Joseph Heinrichs Copper & Sterling Silver Chafing Dish

Joseph Heinrichs, mixed metal copper and sterling silver impressive chafing dish. This complex, beautiful, whimsical, and hammered piece consists of 3 parts:

- a copper and sterling silver hot water pan with a long wood and silver handle, measuring 18'' in length with the handle along with a round copper and sterling silver cover having a wood finial atop with a monogram (removable upon request) which measures 8 1/2'' in diameter by 4 1/2'' in height 

- a copper and silver burner with a wood handle measuring 2 5/8'' in height by 10 3/8'' in length with the handle

- a three-legged stand on a wood base measuring 7'' in height by 13 1/2'' in diameter 

Overall dimensions are 11 1/2'' in height by 13 1/2'' by 20''

Joseph Heinrichs was a German-American metalworker, active in New York City and Paris. Heinrichs was born in Prussia and arrived at New York City in 1895. He subsequently established in New York as a molder and finisher of copperware. By 1897 he had opened his own firm in New York and on July 1, 1902, became a U.S. citizen with silversmith as his occupation. During his career, he obtained design patents for a variety of coffee pots and drink shakers. He also made hammered silver items for soda fountains. After 1910, directories tout his enterprise as the "best chafing dish and tea kettle store in existence." Most of Heinrich's work was retailed by luxury firms, including Black, Starr & Frost, Shreve, Crump & Low, and Tiffany & Co. His work is on permanent display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in the Dallas Museum of Art, among others.