A FABULOUS AND EXQUISITE SILVER-GILT, ROCK CRYSTAL-MOUNTED AND ENAMELLED JEWELRY-CASKET
Of octogonal form, decorated on all sides with enamelled flowers. Corners with turned rock crystal columns with silver gilt finials, the whole on eight mask-head feet.
Two lids and one drawer.
Ca 1700.
Made in Augsburg and finished in Transylvania (Austria/Hungary).
Dimensions : 14,5 cm high, 14 cm wide, 11 cm deep.
Marked “PL” below three stars. (Same marks as on the Bonhams example)
The other marks are undefined, maybe early owner's marks.
The most elaborate descriptive about this kind of enamelled works of art, can be read in “Old Hungarian Enamel” by Sandor Mihalik. Mihalik confirms most of the silver-gilt items were produced by Central European goldsmiths especially from Augsburg, which works were finished in Transylvania. An important goldsmith in Slovakia was Bertalan Weigl, situated in the city of Banska Stiavnica. He was specialized in the use of painted enamel plaques for decorative purposes.
Most of comparative silver-gilt items with enamel decoration are religious items, such as chalices. Some of these can be seen in mayor museums as the Louvre in Paris.
The two known museum-quality jewelry-caskets (the Bonhams-one and this one) must be commissioned works of art as they are extremely rare.
Provenance :
Important Italian Private Collection
Comparanda :
- Bonhams, 9 july 2015, lot 118.
- Several goblets with identical decoration exists in different museums : Louvre Paris, Museum of applied arts, Budapest.