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Lot Essay
The presence of the cast silver gilt figures is typical for the early German Jewish spice towers of the sixteenth and seventeenth century. They were probably inspired by the contemporary use of automata with animated figures on clockworks in the towers of public buildings in German towns. Excellently preserved, with splendid, warm, untouched patina, fine detailing and superb filigree-work and especially with the extremely rare combination of six corner figures together with the presence of an extra figure on top, distinguishes the present tower as one of the earliest and most impressive examples of its kind.
A similar, also unmarked, spice tower with almost identical iconography and design in the collection of the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam, is originally attributed to an unknown late 17th century Nuremberg master. However this tower misses the additional gilt figure on top. The Amsterdam spice tower is one of the 140 remaining objects of the Museum pre-war collection. Most likely the localisation and the dating are based on information about the acquisition and the provenance that has got lost as result of the looting during the Second World War. After the war the existing data were adopted by the curators who worked on the rebuilding of the museum collection, started with the recuperated silver objects that were found stored in Nazi Germany and were returned to Amsterdam in 1946. This spice tower became one of the prominent objects on display in the new Amsterdam Jewish Historical Museum that reopened its doors in July 1955.
For comparison see a similar spice tower in the Victoria & Albert Museum, M434-1956. However this tower does not have an elaborately decorated pennant and misses the additional human figure on top.
Also see further the spice tower in the Jewish Museum London, Barnett p.78 no. 410, with the figure on top but misses the corner figures. Catalogued as German, late seventeenth century, unmarked, bought in the Howitt collection sale, lot 16, Christies London, May 9, 1932.
A similar, also unmarked, spice tower with almost identical iconography and design in the collection of the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam, is originally attributed to an unknown late 17th century Nuremberg master. However this tower misses the additional gilt figure on top. The Amsterdam spice tower is one of the 140 remaining objects of the Museum pre-war collection. Most likely the localisation and the dating are based on information about the acquisition and the provenance that has got lost as result of the looting during the Second World War. After the war the existing data were adopted by the curators who worked on the rebuilding of the museum collection, started with the recuperated silver objects that were found stored in Nazi Germany and were returned to Amsterdam in 1946. This spice tower became one of the prominent objects on display in the new Amsterdam Jewish Historical Museum that reopened its doors in July 1955.
For comparison see a similar spice tower in the Victoria & Albert Museum, M434-1956. However this tower does not have an elaborately decorated pennant and misses the additional human figure on top.
Also see further the spice tower in the Jewish Museum London, Barnett p.78 no. 410, with the figure on top but misses the corner figures. Catalogued as German, late seventeenth century, unmarked, bought in the Howitt collection sale, lot 16, Christies London, May 9, 1932.