Museum-Quality Serpentine Chalice with Unscrewable Inner Cup. Saxony, presumably Dresden. Circa 1650. Photo Van Ham

Reddish black granite serpentine with three bands of vermeil fittings. Rounded, slightly domed base, a band of stylized leaf decor around the stand. Round shaft with compacted node, also decorated with a band of leaf decor. Ten-sided pear-shaped cuppa, tapering towards the base. High, rounded brim. High, domed lid with slightly constricted base. Crowned by a pommel. Corresponding leaf decor mountings on the brim of the cuppa. The inner part of the chalice contains a conical cylinder cup which can be unscrewed from the chalice itself. Height 26cm. Condition B. Shaft has been restored.
The inside of the lid contains an inventory sticker. Estimation : 20 000 / 25 000 €

Provenance: Blumka, New York. 

Literature: Gert-Dieter Ulfers. Sammlung Jahn, Sächsischer Serpentin. Weimar 2000. For this type with unscrewable inner cup, see pg.62/63, cat.-nr.32. 
Eva Maria Hoyer. Sächsischer Serpentin. Ein Stein und seine Verwendung. Leipzig 1995. For this type, see pg.53, pg.234 and pg.235 cat.-nr.81, a lidded chalice with an unscrewable inner cup from the Jahn collection.

Van Ham. Samedi 17 novembre 2012. Schönhauser Str. 10-16, 50968 Cologne. Tel.  +49 221 92 58 62-4.