Property from descendants of The Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild The rich history of the Rothschild family as great European art collectors and patrons is perhaps only surpassed by that of royal dynasties such as the Habsburgs and the Bourbons. Their collecting reached its zenith during the mid-19th century when it was apparently without rival both in terms of pace and scale. Nearly seventy-five houses were built in less than a century for these Maecenases of architecture; of these houses only Waddesdon Manor in Buckinghamshire, the Villa Ephrusi in the South of France and the castle of Pregny near Geneva in Switzerland still evoke the spirit of their magnificent collections. The foundations for the Rothschilds’ collections were not laid in the nineteenth century, but in the 1760s by Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812). He and his five sons established and consolidated their growing fortune paving the way for their children and grandchildren to passionately devote themselves to the acquisition of great works of art. For collectors of their stature Europe was, in the second half of the century, a true paradise; this was a time when the royal and noble houses of Europe, as well as many landowning families in England were facing financial difficulties. The prestige of the Rothschilds’ collections was greatly enhanced by the fact that their luxurious interiors were partly furnished with great works of art and objets de luxe displaced from the collections of royal and princely families following the French revolution. Indeed, in their passion for art, the family quite possibly consciously imitating some of the great dynasties that had preceded them, such as the Medici, of whose collection the family – particularly Adolph (the brother-in-law of Nathaniel and Albert) – owned a significant part. During the course of the nineteenth century the lifestyle of the Rothschilds became increasingly cosmopolitan and the Austrian line, founded by Salomon (1774-1855), the grandfather of Nathaniel and Albert, was no exception. It was following Salomon’s death that his son, Anselm (1803-1874) firmly established the Rothschild business interests in Austria and it was he who undertook several ambitious building projects, including, in 1868, a gallery attached to his Viennese residence on the Renngasse, where he intended to house his growing collection of art. After Anselm’s death in 1874, his property was divided between his three surviving children, Nathaniel (1836-1905), Ferdinand (1839-1898) and Albert (1844-1911). All three continued to build upon the collections they had inherited, but Nathaniel and Ferdinand were the most voracious collectors, whilst Albert concentrated also on the families’ business interests. Ferdinand and Nathaniel both died without issue; Ferdinand left some of his collection to his brothers, including many of the pictures from his London house, as well as some of the contents of Waddesdon. Nathaniel subjectively left the majority of his estate to Albert, who thereby became the possessor of the amalgamated Austrian collections. Following Albert’s death in 1911 the collections passed to his sons, Alphonse (1878-1942), Louis (1882-1955) and Eugene (1884-1976). In 1938, following the Anschluß, the property of the Viennese branch of the family was seized by the Third Reich. During the Second World War the collection was mostly stored underground in the salt mines and subsequently was retained in the collections of the Austrian state museums until 1999 when it was returned to the heirs of Baron Alphonse von Rothschild by the Austrian government. Many of the following lots were originally part of the collections at Schloss Schillersdorf, an 18th century palace located on a hill overlooking the river Oder in Moravia, now in the Czech Republic. It was Nathaniel and Albert’s grandfather, Salomon, who bought Schloss Schillersdorf from the Prussian noble Von Eichendorff family in 1842. The Manor of Silherovice was part of the Schillersdorf estate, which was inherited by Salomon's son, Anselm von Rothschild, who transformed it into a model farm, equipping it with modern machinery, most notably a steam pump which brought water from the river, and a sophisticated system of underground pipes to irrigate the park. The estate was noted for its varied and plentiful game, which was much enjoyed by guests during gala dinners and shooting parties. When Anthony de Rothschild visited from England in 1869, he wrote to his brothers: ‘Schillersdorf is a very fine estate… The house is very comfortable, very much in the style of the old house of Ferrières. The park… has been laid out recently like Regents Park. There are magnificent woods of fir trees of thousands of acres all outside, so that shooting is excellent and the drives and rides charming.’

A GERMAN SILVER SOUP-TUREEN AND COVER

MARK OF GOTTFRIED BARTERMANN, AUGSBURG, 1761-1763

Details

A GERMAN SILVER SOUP-TUREEN AND COVER
MARK OF GOTTFRIED BARTERMANN, AUGSBURG, 1761-1763
Bombé and on four out-scrolled, rocaille and foliage feet each applied with a faun or a boar, the sides applied with two openwork rocaille handles, the detachable cover with a finial cast as a hunter and his dog in pursuit of a deer amidst a tree stump and foliage, and further applied with a rabbit on one side and a leaping hare on the other, marked underneath and on cover bezel
16 ½ in. (41.9 cm.) long
86 oz. 3 dwt. (2,679 gr.)

Provenance

The present lot is part of the 'jagdservice' or hunting service, the centrepiece of which is thought to have been presented by Kurfurst Karl Theodors von Pfalz (1724-1799) to the Bishop of Lille.

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Lot Essay

This tureen and cover is part of the Jagdservice or 'Hunting Service' by Göttfried Bartermann circa 1761-1763. A tureen, cover and stand from the service are in the collection of the Baerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (Inv. No. 57/3-10) together with a pair of mustard-pots with ladles and four covered salt-cellars en suite, by Heinrich Bernhard Weyhe, who collaborated with Bartermann on the commission.

They are illustrated by C. Hernmarck, The Art of the European Silversmith, 1430-1830, London, 1977, vol. II, figs. 417, 451 and 454, and also by L. Seelig in the exhibition catalogue, Silber und Gold, Augsburger Goldschmiedkunst für die Höfe Europas, Munich, 1994, cat.no. 149, 103.

In his study on Augsburg goldsmiths, Helmut Seling describes Bartermann’s jagdservice as a masterpiece due to its superior design and execution. He states that the charming design is emblematic of the playful character of the Rococo style (Die Kunst der Augsburger Goldschmiede 1529-1868, Munich, vol. I, pp. 164, 313-314, cat no. 734/735).

Bartermann’s clients included several noble German families, among them Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1756-1837) and Elector Max III Joseph of Bavaria (1727-1777). Barterman (c.1705-1769) was admitted Master in 1733 (see H. Seling, ibid., vol. III, nos. 2248 and 2275).

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