Theodor Wende (German, 1883-1968) was a gold and silversmith who trained in Berlin. Later, he joined the Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt Art Colony and was there from 1913-1921. For the next 30 years, Wende was a professor at the Badische Kunstgewerbeschule Pforzheim. This School of Applied Arts focused on goldsmithing and metalwork, as Pforzheim was a center of the jewelry and watchmaking industries.
Wende’s silver tea service is remarkable for the unusual shapes within the set’s overall geometric design. Other works by Wende have decorative elements from Cubism. See his fantastic gold necklace here in the collection of the Pforzheim Jewelry Museum and his silver tray from an exhibit at the Museum Künstlerkolonie Darmstadt, Germany.