A Hungarian copper and gilt-copper beaker and double beaker, Herrengrund, 18th century
No reserve
Estimate
1,200 - 1,800 EUR
We may charge or debit your saved payment method subject to the terms set out in our Conditions of Business for Buyers.
Read more.Lot Details
Description
the bodies simulating snakeskin, one in the form of a footed beaker, the stem formed as a putto seated on a barrel with arms raised, the rim engraved with the inscription "mein matter mar dah ufa hart gerbahr un kand von kupter art, tragt Hilber jegt eim manheim nein, und itt mit gold bekhleider fen", the other composed of two beakers fitted one upon the other, one with a silver miner inside, the rims engraved with the inscription "Verwandlung! Warest Du nicht bloß dem einen hold / Und gabest, O wie schön war das, uns statt des Kupfer-Golds"
(2)
Footed beaker: height 4 3/4 in., diam. 3 in. ; haut. 12 cm, diam. 7,6 cm
Double beaker: height 4 in., diam. 3 in. ; haut. 10 cm, diam. 7,5 cm
For the double beaker:
Private collection, Austria;
Im Kinsky, Vienna, 23 April 2010, lot 833.
RELATED LITERATURE:
Rotes Gold. Das Wunder von Herrengrund, catalogue d'exposition, Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden, 29 August 2025 - 4 January 2026
At Herrengrund (today Špania Dolina in Slovakia), in the copper mines of Upper Hungary, miners observed over four centuries ago that iron tools left in the mine waters became coated in copper within a few weeks. This "cement copper", which we now understand as an electrochemical reaction, was taken for a transmutation of iron into copper. Worked into beakers, bowls and tumblers, it enchanted travellers and collectors in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Our double beaker takes up this theme with wit. Its inscription opens with "Transformation!" and voices a wish: "If you were not devoted to a single metal and if you gave us, oh how wonderful that would be, gold instead of copper".
You May Also Like
