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Lot Essay
A WEDDING PRESENT
These cups were probably a present or a commission to mark the union of Christian II of Saxony and his consort Princess Hedwig of Denmark in 1602. Indeed the swans are symbols of fidelity and strength, an appropriate choice to commemorate a such union. Following Christian II's early death, these swans could have entered Princess Hedwig's collection at Lichtenburg Castle where she resided during her widowhood until her death in 1641.
Christian II was, like his father, an avid collector who added many objects to his Treasury. An inventory of the treasury in Dresden drawn up in 1610 records that in the years 1601 to 1604 Christian II acquired from the Leipzig dealer Veit Bӧtticher a variety of vessels formed as mythical beasts with shell bodies. These swan cups could therefore have been purchased, rather than a specific commission.
Christian II (1583–1611) was the eldest son of Christian I, Elector of Saxony and his wife Sophie of Brandenburg. He served as the Elector of Saxony from 1591 until his early death, though he only took full personal control in 1601 after a decade-long regency. His reign was defined by a sharp return to strict orthodox Lutheranism, effectively purging the 'Crypto-Calvinist' influences that had gained ground under his father, Christian I. Politically, he was known for his loyalty to the Holy Roman Emperor and his refusal to join the Protestant Union, a decision that isolated Saxony from other German Protestant states and complicated the religious landscape leading up to the Thirty Years' War. In 1602, he married Princess Hedwig of Denmark with whom he had a happy marriage despite them having no children. Princess Hedwig of Denmark (1581–1641) was the daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and the sister of King Christian IV, and she brought significant prestige and international connections to the Saxon court. After Christian II’s death she resided at Lichtenburg Castle, where she exercised considerable political autonomy, often acting as a diplomat between her brother in Denmark and the Saxon electors, and she was widely respected by her subjects as a 'mother of the country' for her charitable works and leadership.
DRESDEN SCHATZKAMMER
These cups are typical of the style of objects collected by the Electors of Saxony for the Dresden Schatzkammer founded by Augustus I in 1560. Although there had been a silver vault in the palace of Dresden as early as 1469, it was valued around 1530 at 128,393 Guldengroschen (approximately £6 million). Made of both natural and man-made objects, it embodied the late medieval and Renaissance encyclopaedic vision of the world whilst reflecting the specific tastes and interests of its owners, notably in its many scientific and technical objects, since Saxony, a country rich in minerals, owed much of its early importance to mining and manufacturing. Along with these mechanical and technical instruments and natural-history specimens, the Schatzkammer contained works of art in a variety of materials fashioned into beautiful and often whimsical objects, as well as paintings and prints.
The Schatzkammer was originally installed in seven rooms on the uppermost floor of the electoral palace's west wing and was mentioned for the first time in 1572. Precious objects in gold, silver and gems were also stored in the Geheime Verwahrung (Secret Storage Vault) known as the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) from 1586 until the eighteenth century. Built directly below the royal apartments, they were accessible by a secret staircase. The Elector's successors, Christian I (r. 1586–1591), Christian II (r. 1591⁄1601–1611), and Johan Georg I (r. 1611–1656) continued to expand the collections, reflecting their individual tastes as well as a strong desire to enrich the splendor of the Dresden court. Between 1723 and 1730, Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and king of Poland (r. 1694–1733), undertook a massive reorganisation of the collections, and the Green Vault was not only enlarged but became a functional museum in the modern sense.
Dresden became increasingly important during the Renaissance when it became the seat of the Electors of Saxony, and the Schatzkammer was a clear demonstration of power made up of the richest and largest collection of precious objects made between 1650 and 1725. As the fashion for this style of collection spread across Europe, the princely collectors engaged in fierce competition, trying to outdo one another in the magnificence and rarity of the objects they amassed.
Several works comparable to the swans are known; however, no pair appears to have survived.
One with silver body by Jorg Rühl, Nuremberg, circa 1610, Baron Karl von Rothschild, Frankfurt 1885, sold Sotheby's London 26 April 1937, lot 236, Collection Victor Rothschild and then sold Christie's, London, 28 November 1973, lot 57.
One by Jorg Rühl, Nuremberg, 1598-1625, the Kremlin Armoury Museum (ДК-174).
One by Jorg Rühl, Nuremberg, 1600-1610, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, (inv no. K 169 D), illustrated in H. Muller, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: European Silver, 1986, p. 180-181, no. 52.
One by Melchior Bair, Augsburg, 1590-1595, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, (inv no. K 189 E), illustrated in H. Muller, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: European Silver, 1986, p. 168-169, no. 47.
One by Friederich Hillebrandt, Dresden, 1603-1608, the Grünes Gewӧlbe, illustrated. in Prof. Dr. Sponsel, Das Grüne Gewölbe zu Dresden: eine Auswahl von Meisterwerken der Goldschmiedekunst, vol. 1, Leipzig, 1925, p. 144-145.
Another with unidentified mark, the Grünes Gewӧlbe, illustrated in Prof. Dr. Sponsel, Das Grüne Gewölbe zu Dresden: eine Auswahl von Meisterwerken der Goldschmiedekunst, vol. 1, Leipzig, 1925, p. 142-143.
Comparative literature:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Splendor of Dresden, Five centuries of Art Collecting, 21 October 1978-13 January 1979, New Haven, 1978.
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and Grünes Gewölbe, Die kürfürstlich sächsische Kunstkammer in Dresden, Dresden, 2010-2012.
Prof. Dr. Sponsel, Das Grüne Gewölbe zu Dresden: eine Auswahl von Meisterwerken der Goldschmiedekunst, four volumes, Leipzig, 1925.
These cups were probably a present or a commission to mark the union of Christian II of Saxony and his consort Princess Hedwig of Denmark in 1602. Indeed the swans are symbols of fidelity and strength, an appropriate choice to commemorate a such union. Following Christian II's early death, these swans could have entered Princess Hedwig's collection at Lichtenburg Castle where she resided during her widowhood until her death in 1641.
Christian II was, like his father, an avid collector who added many objects to his Treasury. An inventory of the treasury in Dresden drawn up in 1610 records that in the years 1601 to 1604 Christian II acquired from the Leipzig dealer Veit Bӧtticher a variety of vessels formed as mythical beasts with shell bodies. These swan cups could therefore have been purchased, rather than a specific commission.
Christian II (1583–1611) was the eldest son of Christian I, Elector of Saxony and his wife Sophie of Brandenburg. He served as the Elector of Saxony from 1591 until his early death, though he only took full personal control in 1601 after a decade-long regency. His reign was defined by a sharp return to strict orthodox Lutheranism, effectively purging the 'Crypto-Calvinist' influences that had gained ground under his father, Christian I. Politically, he was known for his loyalty to the Holy Roman Emperor and his refusal to join the Protestant Union, a decision that isolated Saxony from other German Protestant states and complicated the religious landscape leading up to the Thirty Years' War. In 1602, he married Princess Hedwig of Denmark with whom he had a happy marriage despite them having no children. Princess Hedwig of Denmark (1581–1641) was the daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark and the sister of King Christian IV, and she brought significant prestige and international connections to the Saxon court. After Christian II’s death she resided at Lichtenburg Castle, where she exercised considerable political autonomy, often acting as a diplomat between her brother in Denmark and the Saxon electors, and she was widely respected by her subjects as a 'mother of the country' for her charitable works and leadership.
DRESDEN SCHATZKAMMER
These cups are typical of the style of objects collected by the Electors of Saxony for the Dresden Schatzkammer founded by Augustus I in 1560. Although there had been a silver vault in the palace of Dresden as early as 1469, it was valued around 1530 at 128,393 Guldengroschen (approximately £6 million). Made of both natural and man-made objects, it embodied the late medieval and Renaissance encyclopaedic vision of the world whilst reflecting the specific tastes and interests of its owners, notably in its many scientific and technical objects, since Saxony, a country rich in minerals, owed much of its early importance to mining and manufacturing. Along with these mechanical and technical instruments and natural-history specimens, the Schatzkammer contained works of art in a variety of materials fashioned into beautiful and often whimsical objects, as well as paintings and prints.
The Schatzkammer was originally installed in seven rooms on the uppermost floor of the electoral palace's west wing and was mentioned for the first time in 1572. Precious objects in gold, silver and gems were also stored in the Geheime Verwahrung (Secret Storage Vault) known as the Grünes Gewölbe (Green Vault) from 1586 until the eighteenth century. Built directly below the royal apartments, they were accessible by a secret staircase. The Elector's successors, Christian I (r. 1586–1591), Christian II (r. 1591⁄1601–1611), and Johan Georg I (r. 1611–1656) continued to expand the collections, reflecting their individual tastes as well as a strong desire to enrich the splendor of the Dresden court. Between 1723 and 1730, Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and king of Poland (r. 1694–1733), undertook a massive reorganisation of the collections, and the Green Vault was not only enlarged but became a functional museum in the modern sense.
Dresden became increasingly important during the Renaissance when it became the seat of the Electors of Saxony, and the Schatzkammer was a clear demonstration of power made up of the richest and largest collection of precious objects made between 1650 and 1725. As the fashion for this style of collection spread across Europe, the princely collectors engaged in fierce competition, trying to outdo one another in the magnificence and rarity of the objects they amassed.
Several works comparable to the swans are known; however, no pair appears to have survived.
One with silver body by Jorg Rühl, Nuremberg, circa 1610, Baron Karl von Rothschild, Frankfurt 1885, sold Sotheby's London 26 April 1937, lot 236, Collection Victor Rothschild and then sold Christie's, London, 28 November 1973, lot 57.
One by Jorg Rühl, Nuremberg, 1598-1625, the Kremlin Armoury Museum (ДК-174).
One by Jorg Rühl, Nuremberg, 1600-1610, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, (inv no. K 169 D), illustrated in H. Muller, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: European Silver, 1986, p. 180-181, no. 52.
One by Melchior Bair, Augsburg, 1590-1595, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, (inv no. K 189 E), illustrated in H. Muller, The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection: European Silver, 1986, p. 168-169, no. 47.
One by Friederich Hillebrandt, Dresden, 1603-1608, the Grünes Gewӧlbe, illustrated. in Prof. Dr. Sponsel, Das Grüne Gewölbe zu Dresden: eine Auswahl von Meisterwerken der Goldschmiedekunst, vol. 1, Leipzig, 1925, p. 144-145.
Another with unidentified mark, the Grünes Gewӧlbe, illustrated in Prof. Dr. Sponsel, Das Grüne Gewölbe zu Dresden: eine Auswahl von Meisterwerken der Goldschmiedekunst, vol. 1, Leipzig, 1925, p. 142-143.
Comparative literature:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Splendor of Dresden, Five centuries of Art Collecting, 21 October 1978-13 January 1979, New Haven, 1978.
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and Grünes Gewölbe, Die kürfürstlich sächsische Kunstkammer in Dresden, Dresden, 2010-2012.
Prof. Dr. Sponsel, Das Grüne Gewölbe zu Dresden: eine Auswahl von Meisterwerken der Goldschmiedekunst, four volumes, Leipzig, 1925.