CIRCA 1750-51, SIGNED BY JOHANN CHRISTOPH LUDWIG VON LÜCKE, THE MOUNTS CONTEMPORARY

Details

A GOLD AND HARDSTONE-MOUNTED VIENNA PORCELAIN SNUFF-BOX AND COVER
CIRCA 1750-51, SIGNED BY JOHANN CHRISTOPH LUDWIG VON LÜCKE, THE MOUNTS CONTEMPORARY
Modelled as a dog's head, the gold collar with the inscription 'fidèle', the interior inscribed 'L.V. LVCKe'
2 5⁄8 in. (6.7 cm.) wide overall

Provenance

Anonymous sale; Christie's, London, 29 November 1973, lot 62.

Literature

Christian Theuerkauff, ‘Johann Christoph Lücke – “Ober-Modell-Meister” and “Inventions-Meister” in Meissen, “Oberdirektor” in Wien’, in Alte und Moderne Kunst, no. 183, 1982, p. 32, fig. 20.
Cited by Barbara Beaucamp-Markowsky, Bôites en Porcelaine, des maufactures européennes au 18e siècle, Fribourg, 1985, p. 251.

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

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Lot Essay

A very similar box of the same form in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, is signed L. v. Luck in violet-blue on the interior, and is illustrated by Barbara Beaucamp-Markowsky, ibid., Fribourg, 1985, p. 251, no. 202, where it is attributed to Vienna. Johann Christoph Ludwig Lück (or Lücke, circa 1703-1780) was primarily a sculptor (mainly in ivory), but at various points in his career he worked for porcelain factories as a modeller. He was appointed Modell-Meister at Meissen in April 1728, but was dismissed in 1729. After returning to sculpting ivory he worked at Vienna briefly between 1750 and 1751,¹ before moving on to Fürstenberg and other factories.

1. Surviving documents didn’t record his departure until July 1752, see J. Folnesics and E.W. Braun, Geschichte der K. K. Wiener Porzellanmanufaktur, Vienna, 1907, p. 63.

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