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Lot Essay
This casket formed part of the celebrated collection of Medieval and Renaissance leather boxes and caskets of Frédéric Spitzer (1815 - 1890) and was published in his magnificent six volume catalogue of 1890 - 92. The extensive research was provided by Alfred Darcel (Spitzer, op cit. vol. II, pp. 191 - 218).
Spitzer, an Austrian dealer and collector, owned an antique business in Aachen from about 1850 till at least 1868 and it is during this period that he almost certainly came across the Cathedral goldsmith, Reinhold Vasters (1827 - 1909). Spitzer formed a business relationship with Vasters -- who 'improved' many of the objects in his collection by making them more Renaissance in spirit, at least to contemporary taste. In 1852 Spitzer purchased a large house in Paris on the rue de Villejust, which became known as the Musée Spitzer. Here he amassed a huge collection of Renaissance and Renaissance-style gold and silverwork and other works of art of every description.
Preferring to be known as an 'amateur', Spitzer was clearly a brilliant dealer moving in the most elegant social circles in Paris. The different branches of the Rothschild family were perhaps his most important clients. On one occasion he entertained his friends and presumably clients with a musical recital by Liszt. As the introduction to the Spitzer sale held in Paris between April 17 to June 16, 1893 noted 'pendant douze ans (1878 - 1890), l'hôtel de la rue de Villejust a été le pélerinage de toute l'aristocratie européenne, aristocratie de naissance, de talent ou de fortune'.
Spitzer, an Austrian dealer and collector, owned an antique business in Aachen from about 1850 till at least 1868 and it is during this period that he almost certainly came across the Cathedral goldsmith, Reinhold Vasters (1827 - 1909). Spitzer formed a business relationship with Vasters -- who 'improved' many of the objects in his collection by making them more Renaissance in spirit, at least to contemporary taste. In 1852 Spitzer purchased a large house in Paris on the rue de Villejust, which became known as the Musée Spitzer. Here he amassed a huge collection of Renaissance and Renaissance-style gold and silverwork and other works of art of every description.
Preferring to be known as an 'amateur', Spitzer was clearly a brilliant dealer moving in the most elegant social circles in Paris. The different branches of the Rothschild family were perhaps his most important clients. On one occasion he entertained his friends and presumably clients with a musical recital by Liszt. As the introduction to the Spitzer sale held in Paris between April 17 to June 16, 1893 noted 'pendant douze ans (1878 - 1890), l'hôtel de la rue de Villejust a été le pélerinage de toute l'aristocratie européenne, aristocratie de naissance, de talent ou de fortune'.