Ellis Finch
Head of Knightsbridge Silver Department
Lots 29 – 33
To be sold on behalf of the Fondazione Boris Christoff
To be sold on behalf of the Fondazione Boris Christoff
Lot 33
A large German parcel-gilt silver tankard by Melchior Bair, Augsburg late 16th / early 17th century
25 April 2018, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £22,500 inc. premium
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Michael Moorcroft
Consultant
Anna Burnside
Head of Sale
A large German parcel-gilt silver tankard
by Melchior Bair, Augsburg late 16th / early 17th century
The lid surmounted by a warrior holding a spear and shield, with a ram's horn thumb-piece, the slightly tapering body with a beaded scroll handle, and embossed and chased with images of Bacchus, Ceres and Venus amid fruiting strapwork and cherub masks, engraved with the arms of clan Korczak, height 49cm, weight 77.5oz.
The lid surmounted by a warrior holding a spear and shield, with a ram's horn thumb-piece, the slightly tapering body with a beaded scroll handle, and embossed and chased with images of Bacchus, Ceres and Venus amid fruiting strapwork and cherub masks, engraved with the arms of clan Korczak, height 49cm, weight 77.5oz.
Footnotes
The images of Venus (her quiver at her feet and her bow with slack string) together with Ceres and Bacchus are most likely an example of Sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus (Without Ceres and Bacchus, Venus freezes). On a vessel designed to hold such a prodigious quantity of beer, the metaphor is particularly apt.
Literature
The current lot is illustrated in Seling, 'Die Kunst der Augsburger Goldschmiede 1529-1868, Band II' (Munich 1980), catalogue number 139.