An important Silesian silver gilt tankard
An important Silesian silver gilt tankard
The six-sided, slightly tapering body with a moulded herm handle rests on a thick basal ring with flame ornament. The spandrels in the form of ogee arches with chased angel's heads alternating with fruit garlands. Between them six oval reserves, two with engraved depictions of landscapes and game animals, the other four with the coats of arms of Silesian families, including the coat of arms of the von Biberaw family with the monogram DVB, that of the von Zedlitz family with the monogram DVZ, that of the von Raab family with the monogram EGR. A fourth, as yet unidentified coat of arms also bears the monogram DVB.
The domed hinged lid with corresponding decor. A winged sea creature as a thumb rest and the finely chased figure of a Roman soldier on horseback as a finial. The attribute in the rider's right hand has been lost. H 21.5 cm, weight 955 g.
Unmarked, attributed to Breslau, presumably Veit Koch, around 1610 - 1620.
Provenance
Peter Szuhay art dealers, London, 1996; private collection, Westphalia.
Literature
Cf. a Wroclaw tankard with the maker's mark of Veit Koch in the collection of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, illustrated in cat. For more on this type, see also a wine jug by the master Daniel Hofmann with the coats of arms of Wroclaw patrician families, illustrated in Gündel, Die Goldschmiedekunst in Breslau, Breslau 1940, plate 46. An unmarked jug attributed to Silesia is illustrated in cat. no. 41. Die Wiener Silber-Sammlung Bloch-Bauer/Pick, Vienna 2008, no. 33. "In an attempt to identify specific characteristics for Silesian jugs, the broad proportions and the particularly flat domed lid are striking" (cf. ibid. p. 68).
Bid on this lot
An important Silesian silver gilt tankard
The six-sided, slightly tapering body with a moulded herm handle rests on a thick basal ring with flame ornament. The spandrels in the form of ogee arches with chased angel's heads alternating with fruit garlands. Between them six oval reserves, two with engraved depictions of landscapes and game animals, the other four with the coats of arms of Silesian families, including the coat of arms of the von Biberaw family with the monogram DVB, that of the von Zedlitz family with the monogram DVZ, that of the von Raab family with the monogram EGR. A fourth, as yet unidentified coat of arms also bears the monogram DVB.
The domed hinged lid with corresponding decor. A winged sea creature as a thumb rest and the finely chased figure of a Roman soldier on horseback as a finial. The attribute in the rider's right hand has been lost. H 21.5 cm, weight 955 g.
Unmarked, attributed to Breslau, presumably Veit Koch, around 1610 - 1620.
Provenance
Peter Szuhay art dealers, London, 1996; private collection, Westphalia.
Literature
Cf. a Wroclaw tankard with the maker's mark of Veit Koch in the collection of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, illustrated in cat. For more on this type, see also a wine jug by the master Daniel Hofmann with the coats of arms of Wroclaw patrician families, illustrated in Gündel, Die Goldschmiedekunst in Breslau, Breslau 1940, plate 46. An unmarked jug attributed to Silesia is illustrated in cat. no. 41. Die Wiener Silber-Sammlung Bloch-Bauer/Pick, Vienna 2008, no. 33. "In an attempt to identify specific characteristics for Silesian jugs, the broad proportions and the particularly flat domed lid are striking" (cf. ibid. p. 68).
