Andreas Wickert (Wickerd) I German parcel-gilt silver figural candlestick

on richly embossed base supporting figures of Venus and Cupid, detachable nozzle, the underside of the base engraved in cyrillic, marked on foot and detachable nozzle

Sammlung “E.”, Hamburg (their sale: H.W. Lange, Berlin, May 12-13, 1942, lot 335.)
Private collection, Germany
D. Van Haeke, Bonn (acquired from the above private collection)
Dr. Dr. István Heller

Exh. Cat. Museum für Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, 2004, no. 27A
Istvan Heller, Venus-Leuchter, in Weltkunst 3, 2004, pp. 74-75

repair to foot of putto and hand of Venus and candle scrolll, putti with broken arrow and lacking bow. marked on base, mid-section and nozzle. A few scratches, small dents to candle scroll, and some attractive wear to gilding. overall in good condition. very nice colour.
"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."

The inscription reads: ‘No. 21 – Gr: D. Sh: 3 f 76 zol : No. I'
The candlestick has lost approximately 20gr since it was inscribed on the base. The weight of 3 funt 76 Zolotniki indicated by the inscription is the equivalant of 1550gr (There were 96 zolodniki in a funt and a funt weighed approximately 409gr). It is not know to whom or what Gr D. Sh refers, although Andreas Wickert was clearly favoured by whoever coordinated orders for Augsburg silver in Russia as the number of pieces by this master in the Kremlin museum attests. 

A large silver-gilt dish bearing the mark of Andreas Wickert I, was sold in 1817 to George IV by the royal goldsmiths, Rundell, Bridge & Rundell. In his The Gold and Silver of Windsor Castle (Letchworth, 1911, pp. lvj and 8, pl. IV), E. Alfred Jones remarks that, ‘German plate of the seventeenth century is further represented [in the Royal Collection] by a large oval dish of about 1645 decorated in the middle with a scene representing the Deluge and on the border with Noah and groups of animals, which is by an Augsburg craftsman, believed to be Andreas Wickhart [sic] the elder. The maker of this piece is noted for the large number of carved ivory tankards mounted in silver by him, preserved in the royal collections of the emperor of Russia, the grand duke of Baden and the king of Saxony, as well as in the royal museums at Cassel and Gotha. This list may be supplemented by the large ivory tankard belonging to prince Esterhazy at Vienna, which is carved with the favourite subject of Esther before Ahasuerus. Although the silver work on these and many other carved ivory cups and tankards is stamped with what is in many examples an unimportant piece of information, namely an indication of the name of the maker, it is impossible to answer the highly dubious question whether the silversmith was also a worker in ivory.’

Andreas Wickert I (master 1629) appears to have been an Augsburg citizen of some importance. He was an elected member of the Goldsmiths' Guild, Assay Master, and a member of the Great Council of the City. The majority of surviving recorded pieces from his workshop are mounted ivory tankards, for which Augsburg was renowned.