- 395
A silver pomander, unmarked, probably English, circa 1600
Description
- Silver
- 7cm, 2 3/4 in high
Provenance
Christie's London, 31 March 1971, lot 105 (Santo Silva, £1450)
Literature
Condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
This pomander is remarkable for its unusually large size. A comparable example, of the same dimensions and workmanship, with numbered segments and related engravings of exotic birds among flowering plants and scent pellets, and very likely from the same workshop, is in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. BK-1959-45). Both are 7cm high and, although not identical, share a number of features in common, notably the overall method of manufacture and the style of engraving, even to the vertical borders being delineated on a single edge of each loculus (i.e. segment formed as a small wallet or container). The hinges of both are embellished with shallow horizontal ridges, a feature also found on the hinges of the silver-gilt and niello pomander in the Gilbert Collection, which Timothy Schroder has catalogued as probably English, circa 1600-1610 (The Gilbert Collection of Gold and Silver, Los Angeles, 1988, pp. 70-72, no. 12). Although the Rijksmuseum example has been catalogued as 'Dutch, circa 1600-20,' the suggestion that it is actually English is given weight by the results of the London Assay Office's Impurity Analysis test on the present pomander (see above) as well as the fact that the latter was described at Christie's under Arthur Grimwade in 1968 and again in 1971 as 'possibly English.' Michael Clayton, who was almost certainly the cataloguer on those occasions, noted that English pomanders 'are extremely rare,' citing this example as a possible claimant (The Collector's Dictionary, London, &c, 1971, p. 201).
Another, silver-gilt pomander with plain interior, also thought to be English of the same period and of similar form to the present example and that in the Rijksmuseum, but with four loculi instead of six, is illustrated by courtesy of Thomas Lumley Ltd in Edward Wenham, 'Pomanders,' Antique Collector, June 1955, p. 100, figs. 6 and 7. Although the engraving is a little more formal than on the others, the character of it is very similar, with flowering foliage and other details including an owlet nesting in a bloom. This whimsical note in engraving on English silver was already well established by the end of the 16th Century, as Philippa Glanville shows in her illustrations of various Elizabethan items, such Dr Butler's tankard of about 1575 and a silver-gilt mounted nautilus cup, London, 1585 (Silver in Tudor and Early Stuart England, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 1990, pp. 317 and 323, figs. 186 and 189). Both have engraved lips, the first birds among foliage, the second flowers and foliage. These features are combined on another of Mrs Glanville's choices: a silver-mounted mother of pearl casket of about 1600 (p. 320, fig. 188), as they are on the pomanders mentioned here. Clearly the silver engravers of all these items drew their inspiration from a number of sources, principally, it is thought, from engravings and other prints then in wide circulation all over Europe.
We find, for instance, in a charming series of small panels by the Groningen goldsmith Adriaen Muntinck (active 1570-1610), parrots, peacocks and other fanciful birds perched on stylized fronds, some sprouting flowers or laden with fruit (Victoria & Albert Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings, accession nos. E. 891-1963 to E. 898-1963). The attitudes of some of these birds are so similar to those on the present pomander as well as that on the Rijksmuseum example as to suggest a possible source. The work of another engraver of this period, Hieronymus Bang (1553-1630), who settled in Nuremberg in 1587, might also be considered, especially elements in his schemes of birds among trellises of floral scrollwork (for example, British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings, registration no. 1874.0711.1705-1715). Some of the engravings of both Muntinck and Bang, as well as several of their near contemporaries like Theodor de Bry (1528-1598), also incorporated the ubiquitous peapod of the period (either naturalistically or as stylised motifs), an engraved example of which is to be found on this present pomander.
Considering that pomanders were made to be worn as personal adornments, often on chains around the neck, it is hardly surprising that certain details of the decoration on this pomander are also to be discovered on items of wear apparel of the period. Two examples from the Victoria & Albert Museum's collection of rich embroidery spring to mind, both British, made between about 1600 and 1625. The first is a tailored linen jacket (accession no. T.4-1935) decorated in black silk with floral and foliate scrolls inhabited by an occasional bird, presumably there to harvest the contents of various peapods, which are also present. The second is a less formal jacket (accession no. 919-1873), embroidered in brightly-coloured silk thread of dark green scrolling twigs sprouting leaves, acorns, peapods and, interestingly, a number of strawberries, two of which are also incorporated in the engraving on this pomander. (For pictorial evidence of how pomanders and chains were worn, see the portrait of a lady by Cornelis de Vos, Southern Netherlands, circa 1622, in The Wallace Collection, London).
There is plenty of evidence to suggest that collectors of pomanders, such evocative reminders of past fashions and manners, had been fascinated by them since at least the early part of the 19th Century. No doubt this interest was given an added frisson by the often repeated story of the execution of Mary Stuart at Fotheringhay on 7 February 1587, when in her last act she removed the chain of her gold pomander from around her neck. That great collector, Ralph Bernal (1783-1854), who amassed a vast assemblage of objects between the 1820s and 1840s, owned at least one silver pomander which later formed part of Albert Levy's collection, sold at Christie's, London, on 10 May 1884 for £71 8s.
Pomanders were shown several times at meetings of the Archaeological Institute, such as that in May 1850 by Major Rhode Hawkings, described as 'of silver gilt, elaborately engraved with ornament of great elegance. It has a ring affixed to the top, probably for suspension to the girdle and on unscrewing that part, the globe falls open, being formed in six segments, around a central tube, like the core of a fruit, each of them being a separate receptacle for perfume, and closed by a sliding lid'; at another meeting, in 1847, Miss Leycester showed 'a remarkable pomander-ball of silver enamelled, dated about 1550' (Herbert Haines, A Manual of Monumental Brasses, Oxford and London, 1861, part I, p. ccxlii; The Artisan, London, February 1847, p. 38). Several more reports of pomanders appearing for sale included that at Christie's in 1892, when 'a silver pomander, engraved with [a] Tudor rose and birds,' was purchased for £13 13s by S.J. Phillips (The Times, London, 7 May 1892, p. 9e).
It is hardly surprising, therefore, that although Edward Wenham's article on pomanders, quoted above, appeared more than half a century ago, he was by no means the first writer on the subject. The short essay by John Harland, published by The Chetham Society in 1858, is worth mentioning for its facts on the origins and use of pomanders, just the kind of background information which would have appealed to collectors:
'POMANDER. A ball or other form, composed of or filled with perfumes, worn in the pocket or about the neck. A pomander was sometimes a case of silver to hold perfumes, probably perforated with small holes (like the vinaigrette) to let out the scent. A book of devotions printed in 1578 was called "A Pomander of Prayers," (i.e. a sweet perfume of prayers). An old play gives a recipe for the perfume, consisting of an oz. of the purest garden mould, steeped seven days in motherless [i.e. pure] rose-water, and worked up with the best labdanum [essential oil], benjamin, both storaxes, ambergris, civet and musk. "This will make you smell as sweet as my lady's dog." In the Winter's Tale pomander is among the list of things for sale by the pedlar Autolycus. Pomanders were often used against infection. In the inventory of the jewels of the Princess (afterwards Queen) Mary (1542-46) is an entry of a pomander of gold with a dial in it, which was subsequently given to my lady Elizabeth quene (Queen Elizabeth). In the same work are four other entries of pomanders, and in all it is described as attached to the girdle of goldsmith's work which was worn round the waist, and hung often very low in front of the wearer, as seen in portraits of the time. The derivation is from pomme d'ambre, perfume ball, and its purpose was equally adapted for ornament as a locket. A receipt of 1586 is given, in which the scent seems to be from cinnamon, sanders and cloves, with ambergris, musk and civet. One or two balls were formed, perforated, and suspended from the bosom, wrist or girdle, or inclosed within gold cases of filigree work, or enamelled.'