A PAIR OF VICTORIAN SILVER-GILT PILGRIM FLASKS

MAKER'S MARK OF JAMES GARRARD, LONDON, 1890

細節

A PAIR OF VICTORIAN SILVER-GILT PILGRIM FLASKS
Maker's mark of James Garrard, London, 1890
Each on spreading lobed oblong base, rising to a circular body surmounted by a cylindrical stem, domed cover and swing handle formed as grotesque serpents with turtle and putto on terminals, the foot chased with panels of grotesque mermaids, serpents, urns, scrolls and foliage on a matted ground, the bodies applied with circular plaques each depicting medieval knights on horsesback with attendants before a castle, within sea monster and grotesque mask border, the stems chased with panels of scrolling folaige, ram's skulls, monsters, urns and flowers on a matted ground, the reverse engraved with a crest and motto, marked on bodies, covers and handles
25in. (64.5cm.) high, 314oz. (9766gr.) (2)

拍品專文

The crest and motto are those of Gordon

This pair of pilgrim flasks is an almost exact replica of an unmarked German or Hungarian silver-gilt pilgrim flask of circa 1540 now in the Green Vaults, Dresden (See C. Hernmarck, The Art of the European Silversmith, 1430-1830, London, 1977, pl. 166). The Dresden example, bearing the coat-of-arms of the Electorate of Saxony, is, however, taller (31in., 81cm.) and is chased on each side with scenes that differ from the present pair. One panel is chased with a scene depicting five commanders besieging a town (J. F. Hayward, Virtuoso Goldsmiths and the Triumph of Mannerism 1540-1620, London, 1976, pl. 274), the other with a a horseback rider with a prisoner of war in front of a besieged castle (J. Menzhausen, The Green Vaults, Leipzig, 1970, no. 11, pl. 11). According to Menzhausen, the inspiration for the landscapes appear to be from a graphic source close to the Danube school.
PHOTO CAPTION:
German or Hungarian pilgrim flask, circa 1540, in the Green Vaults, Dresden