Swedish, late 17th century | Covered Cup

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Grevinne von Gerdten;
Wilhem Borg, 1889 (according to the inscriptions)

Similar turned wood cups have variously been attributed to Scandinavia and the Baltic. They originate in fact from Sweden, an attribution which is further supported by the inscription on the cup, as stemming from the Swedish family of von Gerdten. The standing cup and cover follows northern German and Scandinavian silver examples of the Baroque period. Compare with the engine turned standing cup illustrated by Pinto, op.cit., fig. 28 and attributed to one of the countries bordering the Baltic. Compare also with the Swedish wood pitcher with similar ivory studwork included in a Sotheby's New York sale on 6 June 1994 (lot 129). A similar cup and cover was included in the Lily and Edmond Safra collection, sold Sotheby's New York, 18- 21 October 2011, lot 1180, while other examples from the Nicolas Landau collection were sold by Galerie Kugel, Paris.

RELATED LITERATURE
E. H. Pinto, Treen and other Wooden Bygones, London, 1969, pl. 48, figs E and F