Lot 140
  • 140

A rare Bohemian enamelled allegorical pewter-mounted square flask dated 1595

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Description

  • 25cm., 9 7/8 in.
of greyish tint, the four-sided shouldered form, painted on one side with an allegory of mockery, a woman shaking a man through a sieve over a four-sided bound sack, a lady to one side below 1595, the other two sides with stylised flowers, the shoulder with a gilt band between enamelled dot borders, the neck with screwthread cover

Provenance

F.Bodenheim Collection, Amsterdam (paper label on base)
Fritz and Mary Biemann Collection, Zurich - purchased from Nysfad at a fair in Delft, 6th July 1965

Exhibited

Lausanne, Musée des arts décoratifs de la ville de Lausanne, 1972, Le verre à travers les siecles, no.6

Literature

A.von Saldern and G.Haase, 500 Jahre Glaskunst. Sammlung Biemann, p.326, no.71

Catalogue Note

A variation of the allegorical theme of mockery on the present lot appears in a copperplate engraving illustrated in the Teutsche Sprichwörter from the first half of the 17th century inscribed 'Den spott zum schaden'. However, as with most allegorical and moralising examples, the decoration on this flask appears to be unique. Stylistically, the decoration may be compared to that on other glasses such as the humpen from Samuel Prager of 1609 in the Museum für Kunsthandwerk in Frankfurt am Main.