An Austrian gilt-copper writing casket, by Georg Martin Gizl, Salzburg, circa 1740-1744

Leopold Anton Eleutherius von Firmian (1679–1744), Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1727 to 1744;

Acquired by Gregory de Ligne Gregory (d.1854) for Harlaxton Manor, Lincolnshire;

By bequest to Sir Glynne Earle Welby-Gregory (1806-1875);

Thence by descent;

Christie's New York, The Exceptional Sale, 11 December 2014, lot 1.

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Leopold Anton Eleutherius von Firmian (1679-1744), Prince-Archevêque de Salzbourg de 1727 à 1744 ;

Acquis par Gregory de Ligne Gregory (d.1854) pour Harlaxton Manor, Lincolnshire ;

Par legs à Sir Glynne Earle Welby-Gregory (1806-1875) ;

De là, par descendance ;

Christie's New York, The Exceptional Sale, 11 décembre 2014, lot 1.

This fine and unusual 18th century Austrian casket is an especially distinctive example of its kind. The casket is mounted with pierced and foliate gilded copper motifs to the exterior and further elaborately engraved cartouches and motifs. Uniquely to the current lot are the engravings to the front dedicated to Leopold Anton Eleutherius von Firmian (1679–1744) who commissioned the present casket.

The rich ornamentation to all sides as well as to the interior gives the casket a three-dimensional aesthetic, underlines its craftsmanship of high quality and is a testament of the value and significance of the casket part of the collections of von Firmian.

George Martin Gizl

Unfortunately, not much is known about the life and work of George Gizl, the maker of this magnificent casket. Gizl is recorded as having worked for the court in Salzburg from the 1740s until 1787 as a sculptor, gunsmith and maker of scientific instruments. Apart from the present commission, probably his most important one, only a few other signed objects by him help to understand his oeuvre and the quality and skills which he possessed:

- there is an exquisite gilt-copper and carved Alpine Ibex horn ewer and basin, dated from 1758, from the collection of Philipp Carl Graf von Seinsheim, recently acquired by the Metropolitan Museum, New York (acc. no. 2013.442.1, .2);

- a miniature porcelain portrait plaque depicting Marie-Antoinette of Habsburg-Lorraine framed in an elaborate pierced gilt-copper surround signed and dated 'Georg. Martin Gizl. Mechanicus in Salzburg 1754', offered at Rossini, Paris, 30 April 2009, lot 143;

- a portable theodolite signed by Gizl and dated 1769, at the British Museum, acc. no. 1867,0716.2;

- a profile medallion of Leopold von Firmian, Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, for whom he made this writing casket, at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (acc. no. 274-1866);

- two gilt-copper profile medallions of the Prince-Archbishops of Salzburg, Andreas Graf von Dietrichstein and Siegismund Graf von Schrattenbach, dated 1753 and 1754 respectively and both signed by Gizl, in the Museum of the Abbey of St. Peter in Salzburg;

- a horizontal brass string-gnomon sun-dial, from around 1770, signed by Gizl but undated, sold at Sotheby's London, Scientific Instruments, 28 May 2003, lot 122, with the Kunstkammer Georg Laue gallery in 2004.

Leopold Anton Eleutherius von Firmian (1679–1744)

Leopold Anton von Firmian comes from the Tyrolean noble family Firmian. He was the son of the Imperial ambassador Franz Wilhelm Freiherr von Firmian and Maria Viktoria Countess von Thun. His uncle was Johann Ernst Graf von Thun und Hohenstein, Bishop of Seckau from 1679 to 1687 and Prince Archbishop of Salzburg from 1687 to 1709.

He attended the Tyrolean Jesuit grammar school, studied in Trento and Salzburg from 1694, and was later a student at the St. Apollinar College in Rome, where he was ordained a priest in 1707 and from 1709 back in Salzburg. In 1713, he became Provost of Salzburg and in 1714 Salzburg’s Cathedral Dean.

The Archbishop of Salzburg, Prince Franz Anton von Harrach zu Rorau carried his consecration as a bishop on 22 May 1718. In 1718 he was appointed Bishop of Lavant by Pope Clement XI, a position which he held until 1724. Benedict XIII appointed him in 1724 the bishop of the diocese of Seckau (Graz-Seckau), until 1727. In 1727, he was appointed Imperial Councillor and also Bishop of Laibach. And a short time later that year, he was elected Archbishop of Salzburg: after two votes each on 30 September and 2 October 1727 and an hourly prayer on 3 October 1727, Firmian received the required number of votes on 4 October 1727. In 1738 he was given the title Excelsus ("Highness") by Pope Clement XII, but he was not made a cardinal as had been hoped for.

He saw it as his goal to restore the old power and glory of the Catholic Church. Accordingly, he tried to convert the Protestant minority living in his area to the Catholic faith. When he failed, he ordered all Protestants to be expelled from the country and to enforce his order, Firmian brought over 6,000 Austrian soldiers to Salzburg. The female winged saint engraved to the interior of this casket could well echo Firmian’ religious beliefs.

Archbishop Firmian was buried on 4 November 1744 in the crypt of Salzburg’s Cathedral.

Gregory de Ligne Gregory (1786-1854) and Harlaxton Manor, Lincolnshire

Harlaxton Manor, on the outskirts of Grantham in Lincolnshire, is a grand manor house surrounded by acres of gorgeous green countryside. Whilst some foundations date back to the 11^th century, the property and estate went through several reconstructions and hands before being purchased by the De Ligne family in the 17th century with whom it remained for some time. The history of Harlaxton Manor as it stands today begins with its builder, Gregory de Ligne Gregory who inherited the manor from his uncle, George Gregory. When he inherited both Harlaxton Manor, then slightly dilapidated and his own father’s estate, Gregory, born Gregory Williams took his uncle’s title, thus becoming Gregory (de Ligne) Gregory.

Little is known about him. He appears to have attended Christ Church College, Oxford at age 19 where he studied Classics, Greek philosophy and Mathematics. He joined the local militia and became a Lieutenant Colonel in 1813, and may have been involved in the Napoleonic Wars. He also became a fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society in 1825 and of the Zoological Society of London in 1831.

Gregory Gregory seems to have had an appetite for foreign art and in the aftermath of the wars in France he, like many other English aristocrats, amassed quite a collection of French furniture and artworks from Paris. His next move following three years in France and Italy attached to certain embassies, was to build a home for his vast array of new acquisitions. So Gregory had the Harlaxton Old Manor house pulled down, and hired the architect Anthony Salvin to design the new Harlaxton Manor. Unfortunately Gregory would not live to see Harlaxton completed as he died of gout complications in 1854.

Following his death, the casket was bequeathed to the Parliament member and Gregory’s friend, Sir Glynne Earle Welby, 3^rd Baronet (1806-1875), who had to take the additional surname of Gregory by royal license on 5 July 1861 to comply with the will of Gregory Gregory of Harlaxton.