Kunstkammer Georg Laue at TEFAF Maastricht 2016
Leonhard Kern (Forchtenberg 1588-1662 Schwäbisch Hall), Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, Circa 1614-20, Alabaster, 30.5 x 22 cm. Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016
Featuring Adam and Eve in the aftermath of the original sin, this alabaster relief belongs to the few known sculptures produced by Leonhard Kern after his return from Italy in 1614 and before his settlement in Schwäbisch Hall in 1620. The high quality, realism and plasticity of the carving distinguish it as one of the most outstanding compositions of Kern’s early work. A similar relief by the same artist can be found in the collection of the Art Museum of the Archdiocese in Cologne.
Provenance: Private collection, Switzerland
Literature: G. Laue, Leonhard Kern: the German Giambologna, Kunstkammer Edition, Munich, 2016, vol. 3; H. Siebenmorgen, Leonhard Kern, Neue Forschungsbeiträge, Sigmaringen 1990, p. 47, figs. 10-11; H. Siebenmorgen, Leonhard Kern (1588-1662), Meisterwerke der Bildhauerei für die Kunstkammern Europas, Sigmaringen, 1988, pp. 158-159, cat. nos. 59-60
Wenzel Jamnitzer (Vienna 1507/8-1585 Nuremberg), Renaissance mortar with life casts, Nuremberg, circa 1550. Bronze, partly cast after nature and after plaques by Peter Flötner, brown platina. Height 13 cm. Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016
Jamnitzer’s mortar stands out through its intricate decoration of the highest quality, which combines allegorical scenes with life-casted plants and a lizard. Only four other comparable mortars have been preserved in public collections worldwide: in Berlin at the Museum of Decorative Arts (inv. no. 12,95), in London at the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. M.16-1939) and in the Wallace Collection (inv. no. S238) as well as at the Cleveland Museum of Art (inv. no. 1951.444).
Provenance: Charles Boucaud Collection, France
Literature: G. Laue, Jamnitzer’s Mortar, Kunstkammer Edition, Munich, 2016, vol. 2; H. Broszinski, S. Dupré, D. v. Kerssenbrock-Krosigk, <>Kunst und Alchemie. Das Geheimnis der Verwandlung, Düsseldorf, 2014, p. 127, cat. no. 52; V. Spenlé, Wenzel Jamnitzer's Mortar: Life Casting and Court Experimentalism in the 16th Century, in: A. M. Gáldy, S. Heudecker, Collecting Nature, Newcastle 2014, pp. 37-56; P. Bloch, Ex aere solido: Bronzen von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, Berlin, 1983, pp. 162f., cat. no. 88
Exhibitions: Düsseldorf, Museum Kunstpalast, Kunst und Alchemie. Das Geheimnis der Verwandlung, April 5-August 10, 2014
Filigree Goblet, Vetro a retortoli. Façon de Venise, Low Countries, probably Antwerp, late 16th century. Height 14.5 cm. Upper diameter 9 cm. Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016
Provenance: Private collection, The Netherlands
Literature: F. Laméris, K. Laméris, Venetiaans & façon de Venise glas 1500-1700, Amsterdam 1991, pp. 74-75, cat. no. 46 G. Laue, The White Gold of Venice. Filigree Glass for European Kunstkammer, Munich 2014, cat. no. 16
Court Ibex-Horn Tankard. Ibex horn (Capra ibex), fire-gilt silver. City hall (Rosenberg 4858), master mark FO. Height 18 cm. Carving: Salzburg, circa 1720. Mounts: South German, probably Weilheim in Bavaria, circa 1720. Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016
The Prince of Liechtenstein’s art collections at Vaduz Castle boasts a nearly identical ibex-horn tankard that is carved with scenes of the ibex hunt and is crowned with the same silver ibex figure.
Provenance: Noble family, Great Britain
Literature: Geschnitztes Steinbockhorn, Salzburg 1990, p. 51; p. 125, cat. no. 154
Renaissance façade cabinet, Augsburg, circa 1600. Exotic and local woods; fittings: brass, etched and fire-gilt. Height 45.5 cm, width 115.5 cm, depth 47.5 cm. Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016
The remarkable width of its façade at 115 cm and its unique opening mechanisms reveal this façade cabinet to be a court collector’s item of the first water, beyond all doubt one of the finest pieces of Augsburg cabinet-making from about 1600.
Provenance: Noble family, Great Britain
Johann Georg Kreitmeir, Court figure clock with moor, Munich, circa 1690. Bronze fire-gilt, silver, iron, wooden base. Signed “Johann Georg Kreitmeir München“. Height 33 cm. Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016
Strikes four times an hour. At the hour, the monkey turns and the dog jumps.
Johan Georg Kreitmeir was responsible for all clockworks in the Electoral Residenz in Munich since 26.5.1684.
Literature: K. Maurice, Die deutsche Räderuhr. Zur Kunst und Technik des mechanischen Zeitmessers im deutschen Sprachraum, 2 vols., Munich 1976, vol. 2, p. 55, cat. no. 373, fig. 373
L. M. Y. Tejada, Relojes Antiguos 1500-1850, Coleccion F. Perez de Olaguer-Feliu, Barcelona 1955, cat. no. 40
1. Michel Redlin. Amber court box and chessboard with complete set of amber chessmen, North-East German, Danzig, ca. 1700. Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016
The magnificient amber chessboard is one of the most impressive amber artworks dating from about 1700 in excistence and can merely be compared with similar amber chessboard from the Royal Danish Treasury at Rosenborg Palace in Copengaen.
2. Theodor Commer Collector's Cabinet with 48 wax reliefs by Casper Bernhard Hardy for Canon Johann Wilhelm Neel. Cherry wood, brass marquetery, wax reliefs, Cologne, ca. 1795. Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016
Johann Wolfgang Goethe who knew Hardy personally and also collected his work wrote about his reliefs: "they deserve to be shown in a museum in Cologne for they clearly demonstrate that we are here in the city of Rubens, in the Lower Rhine, where colour has always dominated and exalted works of art." Clearly, Johann Wilhelm Neel also consired Hardy's wax sculptures worthy of a museum or at least a special display such as the sécrétaire he commissioned for his own collection of waxes by Hardy.
3. Turned Object d'art. Bone, South German, ca. 1600. Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) © TEFAF Maastricht, 2016
The mastery of the South German lathing artists at the end of the 16th century is reflected in this wondrous object d'art. The early dating is based on a comparison with a group of similar turned objects made in the same period and that have been on display in the Kunstkammer at Ambras Castle since the late 16th century.
Kunstkammer Georg Laue (stand 204) at TEFAF Maastricht 2016
Director: Georg Laue
he Kunstkammer Georg Laue is internationally known for exceptional Renaissance artworks made of amber, ivory, coral, coconut, rock crystal, and other precious materials that were part of Kunstkammern
Located in the heart of Munich’s museum district, the Kunstkammer Georg Laue invites the visitor to marvel at various objects that were once displayed in cabinets of curiosities: naturalia, exotica, scientifica, mirabilia and artificilia recreate the ambience of sumptuous princely collections from the Renaissance and Baroque.
Art historian and curator Georg Laue has been publishing a series of books discussing different aspects of the Kunst- and Wunderkammer since 1999: The White Gold of Venice 2014, Exotica 2012, Precious Cutlery for European Kunstkammer 2010; Furniture for European Kunstkammer 2008, Amber Treasuries for European Kunstkammer 2006; Scientifica 2005, Turned Treasuries 2004; Memento Mori 2002; The Amber Cabinet 2001, Wunder kann man sammeln 1999.
In addition to these books, the Kunstkammer Georg Laue launches a new publication series entitled “Kunstkammer Edition” in 2016, which will focus on specific Kunstkammer objects.
Contact: Schellingstrasse 56, 80799 Munich, Germany. T +49 89 27 81 85 55 - M +49 172 87 30 961 - F +49 89 27 81 85 56 - www.kunstkammer.com - kunstkammer@kunstkammer.com