A magnificent German silver-gilt ewer

Silver in the Gutmann Collection The collection formed by Eugen Gutmann (1840-1925) was of exceptional quality and depth. There could be no better example of late 19th Century collecting taste. Apart from Old Masters, it included Renaissance jewellery, gold-mounted hardstone objects, bronzes, maiolica, watches, miniatures and 18th century gold boxes - all areas pursued by the Rothschild families of Europe, Julius Wernher in England and J. Pierpont Morgan in America, among others. However, it was in the field of European and particularly German Renaissance silver that the Gutmann collection truly excelled. In 1912, the distinguished art historian, Otto von Falke published The Art Collection Eugen Gutmann. In the introduction to this catalogue he wrote of the Renaissance jewellery and European silver, that, 'not only can it boast of the names and works of such renowned masters as Jamnitzer, Petzolt, Eisenhoit, Attemstetter (sic), Lencker, Ritter, Straub, Drentwett and others, but also of the breadth of scope and multiplicity of forms, which makes it worthy to rank beside the treasure-chambers of princes'. The seventy lots of silver in Otto von Falke's catalogue appear to be of a consistent and extraordinarily high standard. Among the highlights are the silver-gilt mounted ivory cup on elephant feet, with cover formed as a model of a castle, by Abraham Jamnitzer, Nuremberg, 1591 and the Tetzel cup, a drinking cup formed as a model of a cat holding in its paw a fish, by Hans Hutten, Nuremberg, 1626 (the former is illustrated by O. von Falke, op. cit, pl. 28 and M. Bachtler, Goldschmiedekunst, Bielefeld, 1986, pg. 31, the latter is illustrated by von Falke, pl. 31.) The bulk of the silver collection stolen during the Second World War was returned to the family in the 1950s and subsequently sold in New York. The three pieces of silver-gilt from the Gutmann collection more recently returned to the family, after being on loan to the Rijksmuseum for nearly fifty years, are of equal quality and superb condition. Each piece is by a highly significant maker and of the greatest artistic importance. Otto von Falke wrote of the ewer by Johannes Lencker and the cup by the Ulm maker, Hans Ludwig Kienle (now written as Kienlin), that they demonstrate the style of the High Renaissance at its highest perfection. More recently, John Hayward in his classic work, Virtuoso Goldsmiths and the Triumph of Mannerism, 1540-1620, London, 1976, p. 387, says of the lithe figure of the nymph, or more correctly nereid, on the back of the triton which forms the body of Lencker's ewer, that it 'is the epitome of Mannerist sophistication.' It is a sublime work of both the sculptor's and the goldsmith's art and one of the greatest pieces to be made in Augsburg at the start of the second quarter of the 17th century, a period when the city was supplanting Nuremberg in producing the finest silver in Germany, if not all of Europe. The wonderful double-cup by Hans Petzolt, one of the greatest Nuremberg makers working at the end of the 16th century, is a perfect example of the short lived return to the Gothic style of a hundred years earlier. This use of the Gothic style with added Renaissance ornament was an unusual artistic development and one that Petzolt seems largely to have introduced. Made for Jacob Starck of Nuremberg and his wife, Elisabeth Usler of Goslar in 1596, the double-cup eventually became part of the distinguished collection of Baron Karl von Rothschild of Frankfurt before being acquired by Eugen Gutmann. The third piece, the partly gilded Kienlin cup, formed as a nude male on a galloping horse, is proudly signed by the maker and dated 1630. It is also of great beauty and, indeed, von Falke noted that 'it had a touch of Leonardo's genius about it.' It is most certainly proof of just how important an artistic centre Ulm was at this period. Few pieces of comparable importance made in this city survive. The silver collection formed by Eugen Gutmann, when viewed in its entirety, is an astonishing achievement clearly formed by a collector with a quite extraordinary eye for the best. The three pieces in this sale were inherited by his son, Fritz whose brave attempts to prevent the confiscation of the rest of the family collection is told by Anne Webber in her introduction to this section of the catalogue. These three breathtaking pieces of silver survive as a testimonial to the genius and passion of father and son as collectors.

Details

A magnificent German silver-gilt ewer
Mark of Johannes Lencker I, Augsburg, 1625-1630
On domed oval base with flat spreading border and chased with shells and wave-ornament, the stem formed as a dolphin with raised tail, the body as a triton blowing a conch shell and supporting on his back a seated nude nereid, her dress draped around her hips and wrapped around the triton's chest, held there in place by her hand, the triton with webbed feet and scrolling tail forming the handle, marked on base, the base with printed Rijksmuseum paper-label inscribed 'inv. cat. 1954-22'
14in. (34.5cm.) high
51oz. (1,608gr.)

Provenance

Eugen Gutmann, prior to 1906, to his son
Fritz Gutmann
The Instituut Collectie Nederland (earlier the Stichting Nederlands Kunstbezit) until returned to the heirs of Fritz Gutmann in 2002

Literature

O. von Falke, The Art Collection Eugen Gutmann, Berlin, 1912, p. III, cat. no. 137 pl. no. 36.
E. M. Link, The Book of Silver, New York, 1973, p. 127
J. Hayward, Virtuoso Goldsmiths and the Triumph of Mannerism, 1540-1620, London, 1976, p. 235 and p. 387 pl. 507.
H. Seling, Die Kunst der Augsburger Goldschmiede, 1529-1868, Munich, 1980, vol. II, fig 83 and vol. III, cat. no. 1157 k.

Exhibited

Berlin, Kaiser Friedrich-Museums-Verein, 1906, cat. no. 244.
Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum, 1954-2002 (RBK 1954-22) on loan from the Instituut Collectie Nederland

Lot Essay

John Hayward (op. cit.) wrote of this ewer that it was 'perhaps the best of Johannes' achievements' and describes the figure on the back of the triton in this superb sculptural group as 'the epitome of Mannerist sophistication'. Both Johannes (circa 1570-1637) and his brother, Christoph (circa 1556-1613) Lencker were among the leading Augsburg silversmiths at a time when the city was the foremost silversmithing centre in Europe. Johannes' extant works include documentary silver and gold items now preserved in the Munich Schatzkammer, the Schatzkammer of the Archbishop of Salzburg and the Kremlin, Moscow.

Unusually for a silversmith, Christoph Lencker is thought not only to have made the sculptural models for his work but also to have designed the objects as well. Indeed, a drawing probably by him is clearly the design for a basin struck with his maker's mark and chased with scenes from Ovid's Metamorphoses (J. Hayward, op. cit., pls. 167, 498 and 499). It may well be that his brother was similarly accomplished, certainly the modeling of this ewer is of the highest calibre.

At least three basins by Johannes are recorded. A fine example engraved later on the reverse with the name 'The Fortunate Basin' was in the collection of M. Hubert de Givenchy (Christie's Monaco, 4 December 1993, lot 50). This was chased with Fortuna and a river nymph. Measurements of the central boss, taken at the time of that sale, indicate this was not the dish for the present ewer. Another dish, chased with four oval scenes of the life of Europa, is in a private collection (H. Seling, op. cit., vol. II fig. 86) and is with a ewer of Europa riding the bull which is thought to be a copy of the original one. A third basin is recorded as being in the Kremlin Museum, Moscow, but again, this appears not to be the dish for this ewer.

The influence of the present ewer on the succeeding generation of Augsburg silversmiths is indicated by a fine table-salt by Tobias Zeler, circa 1645 now in the Historisches Museum, Bern. Although this is on a waisted foot, the cover is formed as a very similar triton with nereid on his back but in this case, she looks forward over the triton's head rather than backwards as in the Lencker prototype (H. Seling, op. cit., vol. II, fig. 476).

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