A German parcel-gilt silver Nef-form drinking cup, Esaias zur Linden, Nuremberg, 1609-1629

revolving wheels, embossed with a dolphin and sea monsters, one repeated at the spout with wings and teeth, two sails, ladders, defenders and pennant

Axles a little bent, dents to pennant, 2 figures missing from deck, stern bracket slightly bent, stern deck bracket repaired, smaller sail should be re-rigged, good marks, nice colour, good weight, nicely chased.
"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."

Nefs in precious metal have a long history, from the 13^thcentury when possibly the earliest recorded example was presented to the shrine of St. Nicholas in thanks for the survival at sea of Louis IX (Saint Louis) and his wife Margaret of Provence. The French word Nef and that part of a church called the nave derive from the same Latin word for ship reflecting their early status which was both religious and secular.  As secular items they were even more important than the salt, being placed next to the prince at table and used to hold his napkin and eating implements.
While their exalted status continued, for example Louis XIV’s gold and enamelled nef continued to be reverently bowed to it in the late 17^th century¹, elsewhere they were adopted as real (and surprisingly efficient) vessels for drinking or pouring wine as part of the theatrical table sculpture of a prince or patrician family.  

Specialization, including the art of nef making was an important feature of goldsmith’s workshops in 17^th century Germany.  Amongst Nuremberg masters of the time, Esaias zur Linden (working years 1609-1632) lot 24 is probably most associated with the skill leaving a record of over 60 nefs in literature and in public and private collections.  The specialization was passed between families and generations. Georg Müllner (working years 1624-1659) lot 25 whose surviving work apart from diamond-decorated cups consists entirely of nefs, married Ursula Wolf, widow of Tobias, a specialist nef maker²; and Conrad Meyer of Ulm (master 1666) lot 23 was apprenticed to Hans Ludwig Kienlin the elder as his first master³, a nef maker whose work is in the Ulm Museum and elsewhere including the collection of Julius Goldschmidt, the Franfurt dealer who helped sort out Mayer Carl Rothschild’s vast collection of German silver after his death in 1886⁴

 <sup>1 `</sup>The Maître Hotel is directed to pause before the nef and bow “with all the reverence of a priest passing before the tabernacle”.’ Cyril G.E.Bunt, `The silver nef’, The Connoisseur, June 1943, pp 90-94

²Karin Tebbe et al. Nürnberger Goldschmidekunst  1541-1868, Nuremberg 2007, no. 597
³Adolf Häberle, Die Goldschmiede zu Ulm, Ulm, 1934, p.55

⁴Gerald Jasbar et al., Goldschmiedekunst in Ulm, Ulm, 1990, p. 56; Marc Rosenberg, Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen, Frankfurt a.M., 1925, no. 4780