Mounted nautilus shell drinking cup
On display
Nautilus shell, polished and engraved with a woman with flowers overlooking a harbour scene; on the other side the angel encourages Tobias accompanied by his dog and the angel Rafael, captures a fish from a river; on the opposite a female figure with flowers. Beneath the back mount, now concealed (but visible in M. Wellby photograph) is the signature: 'MERIAN 1632', identified by M. Wellby as for Mattheus Merian the Elder. The stem is of elephant-ivory, carved with a male figure (Atlas?), astride a dolphin, holding up the shell. The mounts are silver-gilt, embossed and chased, with a dragon on top, a grotesque mask on the front, the foot embossed with scrolls and shells.
Details
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Title
Mounted nautilus shell drinking cup
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Artist/maker
probably Matthäus I Merian, the Elder (1593 - 1650) (goldsmith) -
Associated place
Frankfurt (probable) (probable place of creation) -
Date
1632 -
Material and technique
silver-gilt, nautilus-shell, elephant-ivory; carved
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Object type
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Dimensions
32.7 cm (height) -
No. of items
1
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Credit line
Bequeathed by Michael Wellby, 2012.
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Museum location
Second floor | Gallery 53 | European Goldsmiths' Work -
Museum department
Western Art
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Accession no.
WA2013.1.198
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Further reading
Wilson, Timothy, Winterbottom, Matthew, Treasures of the Goldsmith's Art: The Michael Wellby Bequest to the Ashmolean Museum (Ashmolean Museum University of Oxford, 2015), illus. p. 66 no. 102
