Openwork chest, silver, Hanau (Germany), turn of the 19th and 20th centuries
3000,00 zł
Height: 7 cm
Width: 7 cm
Depth: 3 cm
Weight: 136 g
1 in stock
A neo-Baroque miniature openwork chest (case, cabinet box, perfume container) in the shape of a hexahedron, supported by four profiled, turned legs. The side panels and semicircular lid are decorated with openwork featuring floral and figurative motifs. The front panels of the body are dominated by a composition of plant tendrils interwoven with winged cherubs (putti). At the base and along the edge of the lid run dense, repetitive friezes featuring acanthus leaves and geometric arcades. The most expressive element of the piece is the movable handle bar mounted on leaf-adorned door knockers. It is shaped like three predatory, fantastical creatures in a dynamic, zoomorphic scene of mutual devouring.
The absence of central, state-issued hallmarks and the presence of a duplicated, fanciful mark featuring a lion motif are characteristics entirely typical of luxury goods from the Hanau center in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The deliberate use of such markings was intended to stylistically emulate old, 17th-century municipal hallmarks (Dutch or English) and constitutes an integral artistic element of the object.
In the context of Hanau’s historical goldsmithing market, the design and the distinctive, austere design of the pseudo-hallmark—featuring a striding lion with clearly defined claws—allow for a strong attribution of the object to two leading workshops in the region. The first and most likely lead is the renowned workshop Georg Roth & Co., which was famous for mass-producing shallow animal hallmarks—stylized after French and Dutch models—on the rims of its products. A second plausible line of inquiry is the workshop of B. Neresheimer & Söhne—an absolute leader in the local arts and crafts scene, known for its exquisite, neo-Baroque replicas of antique vessels and wedding caskets, which were regularly marked with fanciful animal stamps on the rim.
This object is an excellent, textbook example of 19th-century historicist craftsmanship, seamlessly blending idyllic Baroque iconography with a fierce, eclectic grotesque.
| Weight | 0,136 kg |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 7 × 7 × 3 cm |
| Type |
Desk Box |
| Form |
Miniature Openwork Trunk |
| Materiał |
Silver |
| Kolorystyka |
Silver |
| Technika |
Casting ,Chiseling ,Turning |
| Czas powstania |
The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries |
| Kraj pochodzenia |
Hanau (Germany) |
| Style/Period |
Neo-Baroque (Historicism) |
| Autor |
Unknown |
| State of preservation |
In very good condition. The recesses and the interior of the body retain their natural, aged patina and fine oxide deposits; the structure is stable, with no visible damage to the delicate openwork pattern. |
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