Attributed to Georg Pfründt (circa 1603-1663) Southern German, 17th century

Oskar Dieter Alex von Rosenberg-Rédé, 3rd Baron von Rosenberg-Redé (1922-2004) or Guy Édouard Alphonse Paul de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (1908-2007), Hôtel Lambert or Château de Ferrières, Paris;
their sale Sotheby's, Monaco, May 26, 1975, lot 129;
The British Rail Pension Fund;
its sale, Sotheby's, London, 4 July 1996, lot 80;
acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Overall the condition of the ivory is very good, with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The Nef is composed in three sections: the bowl, the stand and the base. There are two small losses to the edges of the base, one under the tail of the most prominent dolphin and one below the proper right leg of the triton holding the dolphin's mouth. There is minor stable splitting to the ivory, consistent with the material and its age, in particular running vertically through the stem and the base and running horizontally through the figures towards the front of the Nef on the starboard side. There are small lacunae to the stem running in a near vertical line from the terrasse through the drapery at the woman's proper right leg, through her abdomen and out through her proper left shoulder blade; these are remnants of the natural pulp canal from within the tusk. There is a separately carved section with a grotesque face (a shield) at the bow of the Nef, plugging the natural pulp canal of the tusk; the end of the pulp canal is visible in the small filled lacuna in the proper right armpit of the woman at the stern. There is a separately carved ivory socket connecting the stem with the bowl; this socket is probably later. There are some slight glue residues where the socket appears to have been reattached, there is also glue to a small drilled hole in the interior of the bowl where it is connected to the socket. The presence of the socket means that the bowl is not flush to the stem. There are a few very small scratches and abrasions, including to the upper edge of the bowl. The figures all appear to be in very good condition with only minor wear. There are a few very small chips, including to the back of one of the figures at the stern where there is a slight split. There are particularly prominent stable splits around the lower edge of the base. The underside of the base is turned and there are wax residues and an old label underneath. There are a few dirt residues, particularly to the inside of the bowl.
"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."

This extraordinary and highly important Nef can be attributed to Georg Pfründt, one of the greatest 17th-century German ivory carvers. With its superb rhythmic play of entwined, expressive, mythological figures, it exhibits all of the hallmarks of Pfründt's virtuoso technique. The ambitious scale and complexity of the Rothschild Nef, together with its exceptional quality, ranks it alongside the finest works attributed to Pfründt, whilst epitomising the Baroque fascination with natural and technical wonders.

The Rothschild Nef would have functioned as an object of wonder in a 17th-century princely kunstkammer or wunderkammer (Art Chamber or Wonder Room). As such, it would have represented an important commission for Pfründt as demonstrated by the large size of the object, carved from an expensive exotic material. The Nef takes the form of a ship with sides carved with twisting men of differing ages and idealised young women, entwined by billowing drapes, which recall waves of water. Carved in high relief, the figures are set against a low relief ground of reeds and rockwork, possibly identifying them as river gods and nymphs. Below, the stem is formed of a trio of figures which represent the rape of a Sabine woman, a composition broadly inspired by Giambologna's monumental marble of the same subject in the Loggia dei Lanzi, Florence. The inclusion of this composition heightens the sense of drama in the scene and reinforces the anguish and tension evident in the figures adorning the bowl, two themes which would have appealed to the Baroque collector. The foot of the Nef is encircled by frolicking infant tritons and putti, who play with dolphins within a pool of water articulated with graceful currents which counterbalance the flowing drapery on the cup above.

The Rothschild Nef can be attributed to the 17th-century German ivory carver, wax-modeller, medallist, and engraver, Georg Pfründt, on the basis of a comparison with works attributed to the sculptor and to his circle in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, and the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich. In form, as well as quality, it is particularly close to the Nef with ivory elements attributed to Pfründt in the Kunsthistorisches Museum (inv no. KK 4525) (see Sabine Haag's cataloguing in which she confirms the authorship, op. cit., pp. 88-97). This Nef has a cup with a very similarly conceived and executed ivory cup with writhing figures of bearded men and youthful women, entwined in drapery, and set against the same reeded low-relief background. An accompanying charger with ivory reliefs also attributed to Pfründt (inv. no. KK 4459; see Haag., op. cit., pp. 88-97) shows similarly conceived representations of women, with broad faces with hair centrally parted and tied behind the head. These features concurrently recall figures by Pfründt's master Leonhard Kern, such as his Three Graces in the Württembergisches Landesmuseum, Stuttgart (inv. no. 1981-5); the bearded men in the present Nef likewise reference works by Kern, such as the Chronos sold in these rooms on 5 July 2016, lot 108. These classicising features are seen again in Pfründt's Ceres in Vienna (inv. no. KK 45040), with similar heavy drapery, with multiple folds. For the bearded male figures with prominent musculature and thick locks of hair, see the Raubgruppe published by Theuerkauff, again in Vienna (1974, op. cit., p. 85, fig. 40). Further comparison can be made to works associated with Pfründt in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, including a tankard drum from his circle with Poseidon and Amphitrite (inv. no. R 4752). The Rothschild Nef, one of Pründt's most ambitious commissions, represents an important addition to his oeuvre.

Georg Pfründt was born in Franconia and trained in the workshop of the great ivory carver Leonhard Kern (1588-1662). He later studied to be an engineer under Johann Caspar von Stadion (1556-1641), and eventually worked for Bernhard, Herzog von Saxe-Weimar. Pfründt moved to Strasbourg in 1639, and he went on to work in Paris with the French sculptor and medallist Jean Warin (1604-1672). Returning to Germany circa 1646-1649, Pfründt collaborated with Georg Schweigger and Christoph Ritter III (1610-1676) on a triumphal arch for Leopold I in Nuremberg, and eventually worked in the service of Charles Ludwig, Elector Palatine (reg 1649-1680) from 1659, and, later, for Duke Eberhard VIII of Württemberg (reg 1628-1674) in Stuttgart. He died in Durlach, near Karlsruhe, in 1663.

The present Nef would have been intended for a princely or noble kunstkammer, in which it would have been celebrated as both a natural wonder and a triumph of human industry. The 17th-century kunstkammer (or art chamber) developed out of the medieval treasury and, in turn, the Renaissance studiolo. The term is first recorded in 1550 in relation to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I (1503-1564) and his collection of precious objects and curiosities. In 1565, the Flemish writer Samuel von Quiccheberg differentiated between the kunstkammer, an art chamber, and the wunderkammer, a place of natural wonders (mirabilia). Over the course of the ensuing decades the two were conflated and the kunstkammer became a cabinet of natural and artificial wonders, from fine bronzes and paintings to uncarved gems and animal specimens. Kunstkammern were a source of social and intellectual prestige, with two of the finest belonging to the Emperor Ferdinand II (1578-1637) at Schloss Ambras and the Emperor Rudolf II (1552-1612) at Prague Castle. In the 17th century there came about a particular vogue for superbly worked objet d'arts in amber, rhinoceros horn, and, particularly, elephant and marine ivory; the present Nef would have been conceived precisely to appeal to this taste.

RELATED LITERATURE
C. Theuerkauff (ed.), Elfenbein: Sammlung Reiner Winkler, Munich 1984, pp. 112-114, nos. 59-60; Collecting Treasures of the Past VII, exh. cat. Julius Böhler and Blumka Gallery, New York, 26^th January - 10^th February 2012, no. 48; R. Berliner, Die Bildwerke des Bayerisches Nationalmuseums, Munich, 1926, p. 61, nos. 220, 227-229, 236, 871, pls. 128-130, 140, 143; J. Thinesse, Appendix zum Elfenbein, Katalog Rudolf Berliner, Munich, 1977; C. Theuerkauff, 'Pfründt', Anzeiger des Germanischen Nationalmuseums, Nuremberg, 1974, pp. 58-104; H. Siebenmorgen, Leonhard Kern (1588-1662). Meisterwerke der Bildhauerei für Kunstkammern Europas, Sigmaringen, 1988, pp. 80-1,  252-3, figs. 10, 131; S. Haag, Meisterwerke der Elfenbeinkunst, cat. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 2007, pp. 88-97, nos. 26-30