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Nautilus Cup with Female Figure

Bartel Jamnitzer

1588

Not on view

In 1588, Landgrave William IV of Hesse-Kassel purchased this pair of nautilus cups made by the nephew of famed goldsmith Wenzel Jamnitzer. The shells themselves may have been decorated in China for export or in a European workshop in imitation of Chinese style; European rulers valued the skill of foreign craftsmen. The mounts play on the origin of the nautilus shell in the sea: A Triton and a Nereid serve as supporting figures and the cups are crowned by Neptune riding a snail. Intact pairs of vessels like these rarely survive.

Nautilus Cup with Female Figure, Bartel Jamnitzer (1548–1596), Nautlius shells (carved, engraved), silver (cast, embossed, engraved, chased, chiseled, etched, gilded), German, Nuremberg — Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Title: Nautilus Cup with Female Figure

Artist: Bartel Jamnitzer (1548–1596)

Date: 1588

Culture: German, Nuremberg

Medium: Nautlius shells (carved, engraved), silver (cast, embossed, engraved, chased, chiseled, etched, gilded)

Dimensions: 16 15/16 in., 2.4 lb. (43 cm, 1.1 kg)
Base: 4 5/8 in. (11.8 cm)

Classifications: Natural Substances, Metalwork-Silver

Credit Line: Sammlung Angewandte Kunst, Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel

Accession Number: SL.2.2019.25.3

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