A fine Secessionist silver figure, the design and execution attributed to E. Riegel, Darmstadt circa 1910

A private collection from Darmstadt, of works by a.o. Behrens, Van de Velde and Olbrich originating from the Glückert family in Darmstadt (closely associated to the artist's colony)

A German private collector

Cf. Exh. Cat. Ernst Riegel: Goldschmied zwischen Historismus und Werkbund, Darmstadt 1996; Exh. Cat. Art Nouveau 1890 - 1914, Victoria & Albert Museum London 2000, p. 232, fig. 14.10  

Ernst Riegel (1871 – 1939) is regarded as one of the most significant German goldsmiths from the beginning of the twentieth century, renowned for his talent in both the design and the execution of works. Born in the small provincetown of Munnerstadt, Riegel started his career as an apprentice to silver-chaser Otto Pabst in Kempten, after which he went to the Munchen kunstgewerbeschule to study -and later work- under Fritz von Miller. At the 1900 Paris World Fair, the young Riegel was awarded a gold medal for the execution of a piece designed by Miller.

After this success, Riegel settled in Munchen as an independent goldsmith, making a.o. prize beakers and other occasional pieces. He took part in various exhibitions in Germany, amongst which the Dresden Kunstgewerbe-Austelling in 1904 where he was awarded a gold medal. In 1906, Riegel was called to Darmstadt by the grand duke Ernst Ludwig von Hessen, who asked him to join the Darmstadt artist colony. In the years to follow, Riegel received numerous prestigious commissions from the grand duke and his circle for designing and executing elaborately decorated centrepieces and goblets.

The (hitherto unrecorded) figure here offered for sale might have been meant to be presented to the grand duke; the extremely detailed and refined execution of the figure, as well as the fitted leather case certainly point towards an important commission. It is also possible that the figure was made for a world exhibition, which might explain the globe on which the putto stands. The conquest of the art world, together with the artists of his Darmstadter Kunstlerkolonie, was a major ambition of the grand duke Ernst Ludwig. The Darmstadt group exhibited a.o. at the Paris world fair of 1900 and the St. Louis world fair of 1904.

Riegel frequently used putti and other fully modelled figures in his works, as well as the motif of the entwined branches. The combination of silver and gold is another recurring feature in his work, often combined with ornaments in enamel or semi-precious stones. The fact that the piece is unmarked is not uncommon for works by Riegel; perhaps out of modesty towards his royal mecenas, but it can also be interpreted as the self-consciousness of an artist who knew that his craftsmanship was unequalled.