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Lot Essay
Zoomorphic cups, such as the present owl cup, were highly prized in the German and Flemish countries throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. These cups were primarily made for presentation as wedding gifts or ‘welcome cups’ (Willkommen Pokale) and often incorporated the heraldry of their owner. They were also commissioned as trophies for crossbowman competitions, birds being a particularly appropriate form of animal. A number of these cups were created with exotic natural materials, such as coconuts, ostrich eggs and nautilus shells, forming the body of the vessel. Coconuts, also know as ‘Indian nut’ or ‘nut of the sea’, were not only rare, but believed to have mystical and medicinal properties. The magical properties of the coconut coupled with the antiseptic quality of silver, made these cups an ideal material for drinking vessels.
Believed to be a harbinger of Spring, the owl was traditionally thought to have hibernated in a hollow tree from the onset of autumn through the end of winter. The bird's perceived sense of punctuality made it symbolic of the watchmaking trade. In Greek mythology, the owl is associated with Atropos, the eldest of the Three Moires, known as the Inflexible, who cuts the thread of fate, but also with Athena, goddess of wisdom and reason, protector of cities and civic life, war, crafts and techniques. Through its association with lightning, the owl also appears quite frequently on the standard of kings. Despite the owl’s noble and virtuous associations, it is also symbolic of excess and thereupon intoxication, thus making the owl a perfect form for a drinking cup.
A mid-16th century example of an owl cup with coconut shell body is in the Schroder Collection at the Wallace Museum, London, and illustrated in T. Schroder, Renaissance Silver from the Schroder Collection, 2007, no. 39, p. 123. An unmarked 17th century owl with coconut body and yellow glass eyes was sold Christie’s, London, 14 November 2019, lot 463. Another unmarked example, circa 1640, with coconut body and applied at the breast with a mount engraved with the arms of the Grafs von Auffenstein was sold Christie’s, London, 30 November 2006, lot 749.
Timothy Schroder in his catalogue of the Zilkha Collection (Schroder, 2012, p. 112) notes that the double-headed eagle mark on the cup is likely for the Bavarian town of Donauwörth, some thirty miles north of Augsburg in southern Germany. The maker’s mark a sprig or a plant has yet to be identified. The early 18th century engraved inscription of the base of the cup reads 'Georg Adam Wocher Teutsch Ord Rath und Obervogt zu Archberg. Maria Franc. Claudia Jospeha Wocherin geb V Lönörin A 1712 H.T.R.O. [Hoher Teutscher Ritter Ordens]' (Georg Adam Wocher, councillor of the Teutonic Order and chief steward of Achberg. Maria Franc[ziska] Claudia Josepha Wocher, née von Lönörin A[nno] 1712 High Knight of the Teutonic Order).
Georg Adam Wocher (1678-1753) served as a senior official of ‘The Order of the German Brothers of the House of St. Mary of Jerusalem’, a wealthy Catholic military order founded in 1190 with the purpose of establishing hospitals and providing assistance to Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The Teutonic Order amassed significant land holdings throughout Europe, which were divided into jurisdictions. Wocher presided over the office on Alsace-Burgundy, and was a governor of the village of Achberg near the Austrian border and about 80 miles south of Donauwörth. In 1748, Wocher claimed to have experienced a miraculous vision of the Virgin Mary in an oak tree, after which he and his wife were inspired to found a chapel in the town of Esseratsweiler, near Auchberg, which stands today.
The present owl cup was purchased by Selim Zilkha from London dealers S.J. Phillips shortly after was sold at Christie’s, London, on 25 April 1978, lot 288. This cup is one of the earliest works in silver to enter the Zilkha collection.
Believed to be a harbinger of Spring, the owl was traditionally thought to have hibernated in a hollow tree from the onset of autumn through the end of winter. The bird's perceived sense of punctuality made it symbolic of the watchmaking trade. In Greek mythology, the owl is associated with Atropos, the eldest of the Three Moires, known as the Inflexible, who cuts the thread of fate, but also with Athena, goddess of wisdom and reason, protector of cities and civic life, war, crafts and techniques. Through its association with lightning, the owl also appears quite frequently on the standard of kings. Despite the owl’s noble and virtuous associations, it is also symbolic of excess and thereupon intoxication, thus making the owl a perfect form for a drinking cup.
A mid-16th century example of an owl cup with coconut shell body is in the Schroder Collection at the Wallace Museum, London, and illustrated in T. Schroder, Renaissance Silver from the Schroder Collection, 2007, no. 39, p. 123. An unmarked 17th century owl with coconut body and yellow glass eyes was sold Christie’s, London, 14 November 2019, lot 463. Another unmarked example, circa 1640, with coconut body and applied at the breast with a mount engraved with the arms of the Grafs von Auffenstein was sold Christie’s, London, 30 November 2006, lot 749.
Timothy Schroder in his catalogue of the Zilkha Collection (Schroder, 2012, p. 112) notes that the double-headed eagle mark on the cup is likely for the Bavarian town of Donauwörth, some thirty miles north of Augsburg in southern Germany. The maker’s mark a sprig or a plant has yet to be identified. The early 18th century engraved inscription of the base of the cup reads 'Georg Adam Wocher Teutsch Ord Rath und Obervogt zu Archberg. Maria Franc. Claudia Jospeha Wocherin geb V Lönörin A 1712 H.T.R.O. [Hoher Teutscher Ritter Ordens]' (Georg Adam Wocher, councillor of the Teutonic Order and chief steward of Achberg. Maria Franc[ziska] Claudia Josepha Wocher, née von Lönörin A[nno] 1712 High Knight of the Teutonic Order).
Georg Adam Wocher (1678-1753) served as a senior official of ‘The Order of the German Brothers of the House of St. Mary of Jerusalem’, a wealthy Catholic military order founded in 1190 with the purpose of establishing hospitals and providing assistance to Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land. The Teutonic Order amassed significant land holdings throughout Europe, which were divided into jurisdictions. Wocher presided over the office on Alsace-Burgundy, and was a governor of the village of Achberg near the Austrian border and about 80 miles south of Donauwörth. In 1748, Wocher claimed to have experienced a miraculous vision of the Virgin Mary in an oak tree, after which he and his wife were inspired to found a chapel in the town of Esseratsweiler, near Auchberg, which stands today.
The present owl cup was purchased by Selim Zilkha from London dealers S.J. Phillips shortly after was sold at Christie’s, London, on 25 April 1978, lot 288. This cup is one of the earliest works in silver to enter the Zilkha collection.