Walter Bosse “Moonfish” Tray

An elegant and charming polished & patinated brass tray in the form of a fish designed by Walter Bosse for Herta Baller, Austria. Dating back to the early 1950s, this collectable dish belongs to Bosse’s renowned ‘black-golden’ line of cast brass sculptures and home accessories in the form of animals.

Designed to “make as many people as possible happy”, the ‘black-golden’ line was Bosse’s response to the enduring drear of post-war years in Central Europe.
The tray captures the Modernist essence of a fish with its sleek and streamlined form. The face & simplistic crescent moon shaped ‘scales’ have been picked out being raised & polished. What is most brilliant about Bosse’s design is how the beady eye, half-open gormless mouth, and comically round body allow people to understand, and smile at, the particular character of this fish.