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A set of four German turned ivory pricket candlesticks
Southern Germany, probably Augsburg, circa 1650
Each finely turned in ivory, with a broad circular drip pan centered by a pricket above a baluster and reel-turned stem, consisting of several parts screwing together.
Diam. 10 x H. 18.5 cm (each)
Provenance:
Private collection, the Netherlands
The virtuoso lathe-turning of ivory (Elfenbeindrechseln) was a courtly art in South Germany from the early 17th century onwards, reaching a particular intensity at the Munich Residenz under Maximilian I of Bavaria. Maximilian cultivated turning as both an aristocratic pastime and a pointed demonstration of geometrical mastery and virtù; his own signed turned-ivory canister of 1610 stands as an emblematic survival of this culture of princely making. In 1607 he established a private Kammergalerie adjacent to his apartments, a setting conceived for the display of (especially) works from his personal collection. Within such collector’s environments, turned ivories were valued for their luminous material, mechanical exactitude, and controlled symmetry. Indeed they still are the most sought after ‘artificialia’ among holders of a kunstkammer.
Each finely turned in ivory, with a broad circular drip pan centered by a pricket above a baluster and reel-turned stem, consisting of several parts screwing together.
Diam. 10 x H. 18.5 cm (each)
Provenance:
Private collection, the Netherlands
The virtuoso lathe-turning of ivory (Elfenbeindrechseln) was a courtly art in South Germany from the early 17th century onwards, reaching a particular intensity at the Munich Residenz under Maximilian I of Bavaria. Maximilian cultivated turning as both an aristocratic pastime and a pointed demonstration of geometrical mastery and virtù; his own signed turned-ivory canister of 1610 stands as an emblematic survival of this culture of princely making. In 1607 he established a private Kammergalerie adjacent to his apartments, a setting conceived for the display of (especially) works from his personal collection. Within such collector’s environments, turned ivories were valued for their luminous material, mechanical exactitude, and controlled symmetry. Indeed they still are the most sought after ‘artificialia’ among holders of a kunstkammer.
Part of the Europe collection.
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