PF1202

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Lot 117
  • 117

Ensemble de quatre écussons en vermeil et argent destinés à des membres d'une corporation de fondeurs par Christoph Ritter III, Nuremberg, 1656

Estimate
60,000 - 90,000 EUR
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Description

  • Ensemble de quatre écussons en vermeil et argent destinés à des membres d'une corporation de fondeurs par Christoph Ritter III, Nuremberg, 1656
  • Diam. 27 cm, 1 657 g ; 10 5/8 in, 53 oz 5dwt


repoussés, ciselés et gravés sur fond amati du nom de l'artisan accompagné de ses emblèmes, datés 1656 et des noms Hanns Beck Geschworne, Georg Bernhart Weinmann, Hanns Spachel et Sigmund Bonifacius Lündner, le bord percé d'une frise de petits trous pour les coudre sur du tissu ou du cuir, quatre anneaux au dos de chacun

embossed and chased with images of metal objects relating to the guild and guild member names with date 1656, Hanns Beck Geschworne/Georg Bernhart Weinmann/Hanns Spachel/Sigmund Bonifacius Lündner, borders pierced for pinning to material, reverses with fixing rings

 



 

Provenance

Baron Karl von Rothschild
Baronne James de Rothschild
Sothebys Londres, 13 février 1969
Sothebys Genève, 24 mai 1993, lot 189
Albrecht Neuhaus Kunsthandel
Collection privée européennePrivate European collector

Exhibited

Ein Rheinischer Silberschatz. Schmuck und Gerät aus Privatbesitz, Cologne, 1980, nos 289-292

Literature

E.A Jones, Catalogue of the objects in Gold and Silver amd the Limoges enamels in the Collection of the Baroness James de Rothschild, London, 1912, Pl. XCI
Nürnberger Goldschmiedekunst 1541-1868, German Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, 2007, no 730/10. Illus. 749 and 750
Ralf Schürer, dissertation, Die Goldschmiedefamilie Ritter, university of Würzburg, 2004,  pp. 323-326 

Condition

each with maker's mark and town mark, excellent condition, beautiful colour, some minor surface scratches commensurate with age
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

These shields were clearly made as a group in celebration of a bronze workers founder's guild, probably the founder's guild of Nuremberg.  The presence of a skull and cherub on one of them might indicate that they were made as `coffin shields', as they always have been described, although the overwhelming impression they give is of celebration not death. It seems likely that the people mentioned  were either the donors of the shields, or people that the guild wished to thank and commemorate. Perhaps in memory of the reprieve that Nuremberg experienced from the bubonic plague epidemic which effected other areas,  such as Italy where in Naples half the population died from the desease in 1656. A satirical print by Paul Furst, Dr Schnabel von Rom, published in Nuremberg in 1656 alludes to this event and shows a detailed knowledge of the accoutrements of a plague doctor