Traveling set in leather case
Often found in local inventories, the German terms Mundzeug and Besteck originally referred to a case or sheath for holding a personal set of cutlery. These sets contained essential utensils—a knife, fork, and spoon—and other implements, and they reflect the aristocratic ceremony of dining in the eighteenth century. A spice box with two containers, a marrow spoon, and a conventional knife, fork, and spoon (here with Meissen handles) were used during the entremets courses. The beaker and egg holder were not always included. The mark “14” points to a patron who provided silver of 14/16 loth purity (the normal was 13 or .8125 pure). Therefore the Augsburg town mark was not applied but only the maker’s mark and the purity of the silver alloy.
References
Silber auf Reisen. Exh. cat. Museum Schloss Fasanerie bei Fulda. Eichenzell bei Fulda, 1991.
Hildegard Hoos in Messer, Gabel, Löffel. Museum für Kunsthandwerk. Frankfurt am Main, 1995, pp. 122-27, nos. 70-72.
Helmut Seling. Die Augsburger Gold- und Silberschmiede, 1529–1868: Meister, Marken, Werke. New ed. Munich, 2007, p. 49, no. 1990, p. 486, no. 2027, pp. 541–542, no. 2183, p. 566, no. 2271.
[Wolfram Koeppe 2015]
References
Silber auf Reisen. Exh. cat. Museum Schloss Fasanerie bei Fulda. Eichenzell bei Fulda, 1991.
Hildegard Hoos in Messer, Gabel, Löffel. Museum für Kunsthandwerk. Frankfurt am Main, 1995, pp. 122-27, nos. 70-72.
Helmut Seling. Die Augsburger Gold- und Silberschmiede, 1529–1868: Meister, Marken, Werke. New ed. Munich, 2007, p. 49, no. 1990, p. 486, no. 2027, pp. 541–542, no. 2183, p. 566, no. 2271.
[Wolfram Koeppe 2015]
Artwork Details
- Title: Traveling set in leather case
- Maker: Johann Ludwig Laminit (German, 1696–1752)
- Maker: Johann Jakob Bruglocher II (German, active 1710–52)
- Maker: Johann Mittnacht III (1706–1758, master 1735)
- Date: ca. 1745–50
- Culture: German, Augsburg
- Medium: Gilded silver, steel, Meissen porcelain, tooled leather, velvet
- Dimensions: Length (Fork [a]): 8 13/16 in. (22.4 cm);
Length (Knife [b]): 10 1/16 in. (25.6 cm);
Length (Spoon [c]): 7 5/8 in. (19.4 cm);
Length (Marrow spoon [d]): 5 7/8 in. (14.9 cm);
Overall (Spice box [e]): 1 × 2 3/8 × 2 1/8 in. (2.5 × 6 × 5.4 cm);
Overall (Egg cup [f]): 1 3/4 × 2 1/16 × 1 1/4 in. (4.4 × 5.2 × 3.2 cm);
Height (Beaker [g]): 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm);
Overall (Case [h]): 2 7/8 × 10 13/16 × 6 3/8 in. (7.3 × 27.5 × 16.2 cm) - Classification: Metalwork-Silver
- Credit Line: Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010
- Object Number: 2010.110.78a–h
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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