AUGSBURG, MID-17TH CENTURY

Details

A SOUTH GERMAN IRON-BOUND EBONY TRAVELLING CASKET
AUGSBURG, MID-17TH CENTURY
The hinged top stamped EBEN and marked with a pinecone for Augsburg enclosing a fitted interior with pewter lined parquetry specimen wood panels with snakewood, ebony, kingwood, padouk and olivewood, enclosing various marbleised paper lined compartments for pens, writing materials, various pewter lidded bottles, an ink well and sand sprinkler, the panel to the reverse of the lid lifting out to reveal a long drawer and a solid ebony ruler, with a base drawer to one side containing a folding pewter lined padouk, ebony, snakewood games board with a chess and backgammon board together with two sets of fifteen black stained and natural turned bone playing pieces and three bone dice
20 cm. high x 35 cm. wide x 12,5 cm. deep

Special notice

Christie’s charges a premium to the buyer on the Hammer Price of each lot sold at the following rates: 29.75% of the Hammer Price of each lot up to and including €20,000, plus 23.8% of the Hammer Price between €20,001 and €800.000, plus 14.28% of any amount in excess of €800.000. Buyer’s premium is calculated on the basis of each lot individually.

Lot Essay

Such as the fashion for ebony in 17th century Europe that cheaper imitations, usually in the form of stained or ebonized pearwood, began to appear at an early stage; from about 1625, Augsburg makers stamped their pieces with the word 'Eben' in order to guarantee the material.

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