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Caddinet

Attributed to Gottlieb Menzel
1718
Not on view
The caddinet was reserved for the sovereign and his immediate family. The instructions for setting the table for a banquet at Dresden Palace on September 3, 1719, read: “On the table is [to be placed] in front . . . of the king and the . . . queen the so-called caddinet, . . . in which are salt, pepper, and other [spices] in diverse compartments.” The tray held the private royal cutlery and a specially folded napkin that covered bread rolls; hence the object’s name BrodtTeller (bread tray) in contemporary inventories. Augustus the Strong (1670–1733) must have seen this rare expression of royal etiquette in use at the court in Versailles, where he visited in 1687. The pagoda-shaped lids recall the roof line of the king’s summer palace, Pillnitz, near Dresden, introducing a touch of the exotic chinoiserie so fashionable at the time. This caddinet was part of a set of six.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Caddinet
  • Maker: Attributed to Gottlieb Menzel (1676–1757, master 1709)
  • Date: 1718
  • Culture: German, Augsburg
  • Medium: Silver gilt
  • Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 3 1/8 x 9 3/4 x 8 3/8 in., 35.778oz. (7.9 x 24.8 x 21.3 cm, 1014.3g)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Silver
  • Credit Line: The Lesley and Emma Sheafer Collection, Bequest of Emma A. Sheafer, 1973
  • Object Number: 1974.356.775
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Salver, Gottlieb Menzel, Silver gilt, German, Augsburg
Salver
Gottlieb Menzel
1736–37
Plate (one of two), Gottlieb Menzel, Silver gilt, German, Augsburg
Plate (one of two)
Gottlieb Menzel
1730
Plate (one of two), Gottlieb Menzel, Silver gilt, German, Augsburg
Plate (one of two)
Gottlieb Menzel
1730
Cup with cover, Gottlieb Menzel, Silver gilt, German, Augsburg
Cup with cover
Gottlieb Menzel
1736–37
Diana and the Stag, Joachim Friess, Partially gilded silver, enamel, jewels (case); iron, wood (movement), German, Augsburg
Diana and the Stag
Joachim Friess
ca. 1620

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