A South German turned ivory cup and cover, 17th century
A South German turned ivory cup and cover, 17th century. Photo Sotheby's
the stepped domed octolobed base below a gadrooned baluster formed stem, the cup similarly gadrooned, with conforming lid decorated en suite, rising to an octagonal platform supporting four spiraling finials terminating in pointed knops and interspersed with smaller tapering spirals, all surrounding a central tower of stepped spiraling form; faintly marked underneath in pencil with "no. 2."; height 15 7/8 in., 40.32 cm. Estimate 50,000 — 80,000 USD. Lot sold 122,500 USD
Provenance: Axel Vervoordt, Antwerp
A similarly proportioned cup in the Danish Royal Kunstkammer at Rosenborg castle in Copenhagen attributed to the Zick workshops features comparable spiralling columns above a platform on the cover (Gundestrup 1991, p. 265, DKK 23.89).
Sotheby's. Property from the Collections of Lily & Edmond J. Safra - Volumes I-VI. New York | 18 Oct 2011 - www.sothebys.com