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Lot Essay
With its rich use of materials - including tortoiseshell, silver and stained ivory - as well as its complex form, the present casket can be compared to a house altar with reliefs signed by the goldsmith Johann Andreas Thelot which was sold in these Rooms 16 April 1991, lot 29. Thelot was a member of a talented family of Augsburg craftsmen including his father, Israel Thelot, who was also a goldsmith. Documented reliefs by Johann Andreas, such as his Triumph of Love of circa 1689, also show a number of similarities to the relief of Callisto and Jupiter (?) on the lid of this casket (illustrated in Seling, op. cit., II, fig. 628).
The silver repoussé relief on this casket is difficult to interpret, but may be a rare depiction of the moment that Jupiter (here in the form of an eagle in the background) snatches his lover Callisto from death at the hands of Diana and takes her up to heaven. Certainly the inclusion of Cupid with his burning torch refers to a love theme, suggesting that the present casket may have been a gift on the occasion of a betrothal.
The silver repoussé relief on this casket is difficult to interpret, but may be a rare depiction of the moment that Jupiter (here in the form of an eagle in the background) snatches his lover Callisto from death at the hands of Diana and takes her up to heaven. Certainly the inclusion of Cupid with his burning torch refers to a love theme, suggesting that the present casket may have been a gift on the occasion of a betrothal.