German, Upper Rhine, circa 1690

Sotheby's London, 8th July 1993, lot 204

Brussels, Musée Maison d'Erasme, Anatomie des Vanités, 2008

A. Vanautgaerden (ed.), Anatomie des Vanités, exh. cat., Musée Maison d'Erasme, Brussels, 2008, p. 91

Overall the condition of the ivory is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There is minor stable splitting to the ivory consistent with the material. There are minor dirt marks and a few minor abrasions to the surface consistent with wear. There is a joint at the bulbous gadrooned section of the base, visible to the interior; there are two triangular inserts here, visible to the exterior (one with a minor stable split). There is minor oxidation to the silver, and various minor nicks and scratches. There are two scratches to the silver at the base to the underside.
"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 impressive ivory goblet closely relates to a covered cup turned by Emperor Leopold in 1618 when he was Archduke of Austria, now preserved in the Danish Royal Kunstkammer at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen (see fig. 1). While that cup has three registers of gadrooning and features a high conical base rather than the boldly gadrooned base seen here, the dense stacking of turned features on the stems and the overall compositions are similar. Another German 17th century covered cup of similar form, including a lobed foot, is in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (Maurice, op. cit., p. 71)

The lathe made it possible for artists to achieve sculptural forms which would be impossible to create by hand; the operator applied tools to subtract material from a solid medium rotating rapidly on an axis powered by a treadle or a flywheel.  Innovations to this basic process in the late 16th century vastly widened the formal possibilities: multiple axes, elliptical motion, elaborate rotating chucks, and complex cutting tools allowed for the production of spiraling, asymmetrical, undercut, and often paper-thin elements.

Georg Fridenberger obtained his poinçon in 1680. During the latter part of the 17th century, Strasbourg silversmiths worked very closely with the silversmiths of both Nuremberg and Augsburg, often completing their apprenticeships in those cities and therefore showed strong German influences in their work. See Hans Haug, L'Orfèvrerie de Strasbourg dans les Collections Publiques Françaises, Paris 1978. The interaction between these cities was such that it is difficult to establish definitively whether the present turned ivory cup and cover was made in Strasbourg or indeed Nuremberg.

RELATED LITERATURE
E. v. Philippovich, Elfenbein, Munich, (revised edition) 1982, p. 424, fig. 374; K. Maurice, trans. D. A. Schade, Sovereigns as Turners, Material on a Machine Art by Princes, Zurich, 1985, p. 71, fig. 71; B. Gundestrup, Det kongelige danske kunstkammer 1737, Copenhagen, 1991, pp. 261-262, DKK 23.81