IN THE MANNER OF JOHANN MICHAEL VON SELOW (1755-1772) BRUNSWICK, CIRCA 1760

One of the rarest and greatest technical achievements of the eighteenth century was German glass beadwork from Brunswick, with Johann Michael von Selow considered to be its finest craftsmen. Van Selow worked under the Royal patronage of Duke Carl I of Braunschweig. The factory was in existence less than twenty years (1755-1772) and few examples of this colourful beadwork exist. Examples of Von Selow's work can be seen in the Stadtische Museum in Braunschweig and in The Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle. Perhaps the grandest example of this beadwork technique exists in a salon of the Chinese Palace at the Oranienbaum complex of palaces (now Lomonosov) near St. Petersburg. Built in the 1760's by Antonio Rinaldi for Catherine the Great, the room contains panels depicting fantastic rococo chinoiserie scenes of embroidered and painted silk, perhaps after the designs of Jean Pillement, which are surrounded by large panels woven of blue, mauve and pink glass beads. (A. Kennett, The palaces of Leningrad, 1973, p. 244.)

A beadwork table attributed to Von Selow was sold at Christie's, Amsterdam, 16 February 2006, lot 921. For related table see also: Martin Eberle, Erika Eschebach e.a, Braunschweiger Rokoko, Stadtisches Museum Braunschweig 2005, p. 92