NAGYSZEBEN, MID-17TH CENTURY, MAKER'S MARK NK

Details

A FINE HUNGARIAN SILVER-GILT MOUNTED NAUTILUS CUP
NAGYSZEBEN, MID-17TH CENTURY, MAKER'S MARK NK
On a lobed foot repoussé and chased with flowers and winged putti heads on a matted ground, the stem formed as the fish swallowing Jonah, its tail supporting a nautilus shell, three sections of the shell engraved with foliage, the front of the shell mounted with a silver sea-monster mask above a triple lobed cup, each lobe finely repoussé and chased with a scene from the story of Jonah: in the center Jonah being thrown overboard, on the right Jonah and the gourd tree, and on the left Jonah pleading with God, each within foliate scrolls, marked on foot
12¼ in. (31 cm.) high; 31 oz. (978 gr.) gross weight

Literature

László Mravik, "Sacco di Budapest" and Depredation of Hungary, 1938-1949, 1998, no. 19952, illus. p. 332

Exhibited

Exhibition of Old Silver, Museum of Applied Art, Budapest, 1927, no. 114B
Exhibition of Old Cultural Pieces from Transylvania, Museum of Applied Art, Budapest, 1931, no. 43, pl. VIII

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Lot Essay

A silver-gilt standing cup by Georgius I May of Brassó circa 1670, formerly in the collection of Nicolas M. Salgo and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, has a similar lobed foot chased and repoussé with foliage and stem modeled as a sea-monster. As in the present example, the head of the beast rests on the base and the tail curves upward to support the lobed cup (see Kolba, Hungarian Silver in the Collection of Nicolas M. Salgo, 1996, no. 54, illus. p. 76).

The biblical story of Jonah and the Whale inspired the work of Gregorius II May, the son of Georgius I May. A parcel-gilt silver tankard of his, circa 1700, is in the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, and is chased and repoussé all over with scenes from the same story (see Baroque Splendor: The Art of the Hungarian Goldsmith, 1994, no. 60, illus. p. 126).

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