SARACCHI WORKSHOPITALIAN, MILAN, CIRCA 1575ZIBELLINO IN THE FORM OF A MARTEN'S HEAD, |

Oskar Dieter Alex von Rosenberg-Rédé, 3rd Baron von Rosenberg-Redé (1922-2004), Guy Édouard Alphonse Paul de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (1908-2007), Hôtel Lambert or Château de Ferrières, Paris, Sotheby's Monaco, 25 May 1975, lot 26;
American collector, hence by descent until sold, Sotheby's, London, 4 December 2012, lot 108, where acquired by the present owner

G. Salmann, "Une bonbonnière qui n'en était pas une", in Connaissance des Arts, 283, September 1975, pp. 90-1 RELATED LITERATURE
F. Weiss, 'Bejewelled fur tippets and the Palatine Fashion', Costume, 4, 1970; R. Distelberger, 'Die Sarachi-Werkstatt und Annibale Fontana', Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien, 71, 1975, pp. 95-164; A. Somers-Cocks and C.Truman, Renaissance Jewels, Gold Boxes and Objets de Vertu, 1984, pp. 69-70; T. Sherill, 'Fleas, Fur, and Fashion: Zibellini as Luxury Accessories of the Renaissance', in R. Netherton and G. R. Owen-Crocker (eds), Medieval Clothing and Textiles, vol II, 2006, pp.121-150; D. Scarisbrick et al, Brilliant Europe: Jewels from European Courts, exh. cat., Brussels, 2007, pp.87-8; S. Cassani (ed.), La Collezione Farnese. Le arti decorative, cat. Museo e Gallerie Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, 1996, pp. 179-180, no. 6.76; R. Distelberger, Die Kunst des Steinschnitts, exh. cat., KHM, Vienna, 2002-3, pp. 93-4; Le Bain et le Mirror, exh. cat. Musée de Cluny, Paris, 2009, p. 318, no. Ec 79a-b; D. Scarisbrick, 'Courtly Magnificence: the Jewels of Marguerite of Austria (1522-1588)' [publication forthcoming]

Overall the condition of the rock crystal is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There is some dirt to the crevices and to the drilled hole running through the mouth. There are two probably original mount holes in the fur, which have been plugged. As stated in the cataloguing, the lid is carved separately and the mount is probably eighteenth century. To the underside, there is a triangular shaped plug which appears to be original. There are a few various small chips including to the underside. There are naturally occurring inclusions in the rock crystal, mostly below the proper right eye. There is a slightly visible vein running across the proper right side of the face below the eye and above the nose.
"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."

The heights of courtly luxury attained by the artist of the sixteenth century are exemplified by this rock crystal marten's head. Known as a zibellino, originally it would have been attached to the end of the marten's pelt and worn over the shoulder or around the waist as a remarkable and novel display of taste and status. The imaginative fashion for these marten's heads, believed to have originated with the d'Este sisters, has been extensively discussed by art historians since the nineteenth century, on the basis of portraits, contemporary inventory references and correspondence, as well as the very scarce surviving examples. Leading artists, for example Erasmus Hornick, Giulio Romano, and Hans Mielich, created designs for these marten's heads. A jewelled gold and enamel example, c.1560, similar to a description of one belonging to Phillip II, is in the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. Only five others of these rock crystal precious accessories are presently known: one in the Thyssen collection, Madrid, one in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg, one in the Lazaro Galdeano Museum, Madrid, the two last ones in the Farnese collection, Naples (see fig. 1). Inventories and correspondence of Isabella d'Este (1515/16), Lucrezia Borgia (1516), Isabella of Portugal (1529), Henry VIII (1547), and Phillip II (1559) all include references to marten's heads. Mary Queen of Scots (1561) owned a rock crystal marten's head and recent research by Diana Scarisbrick has revealed another in the collection of Margaret of Parma, a member of the Farnese family. The great masters of crystal carving of this period were the Saracchi brothers, based in Milan, who served the grandest European courts and were evidently responsible for the present marten's head. A most interesting reflection upon the status of the rock crystal marten's heads and the esteem in which the Saracchi brothers were held, is contained in correspondence from the brothers to their future patron, Albrecht V of Bavaria in 1573 which stated: "And I will also make small things such as pendants, pine cones, acorns, belts, zibellino heads, ... and other things like the samples I sent you".

Both the crystal heads in the Farnese collection, one of which may well be the one discovered in the inventory of Margaret of Parma, compare very well with the present example and are each ascribed to the Saracchi brothers. A further important comparison is the 'Joseph' ewer in the Schatzkammer, Munich, supplied by the Saracchi brothers to Albrecht of Bavaria in 1579 and whose cover is carved with a lion incorporating garnet eyes (such as in the present zibellino). The expressive, fluid carving of the lion's head and the rendering of the fur compares closely to this marten's head, as also do the characteristic delicate beaded scrolls which decorate the rim of the ewer and which also appear below the eyes of the marten's head.

In the mid-18th Century there was a taste for fine zoomorphic lapidary carvings to serve as snuff boxes. Whilst the fashion for marten's head fur pieces passed away after the early 1600s, the virtuoso carving of this marten's head remained highly prized, and a fine gold rim and cover mount were added to create a snuff box. In its more recent history, the box formed part of the renowned Rothschild-Rédé collection of zoomorphic boxes and renaissance objet d'art dispersed at Sotheby's, Monaco in 1975. Here it was catalogued as an 18th Century marten's head snuff box, though in an article published very soon afterwards, the early history and rarity of this remarkable courtly object was revealed.