Lot 502. A Flemish parcel-gilt silver owl cup, Jan de Naghel III, Ghent, 1557; 19cm high, 487gr. Lot Sold 190,500 GBP (Estimate 150,000 - 200,000 GBP) © Sotheby's 2025

Realistically modelled, with feather-effect chasing, the removable head with bicolored glass eyes, the neck with inscription 'Vinv in ivcvditate creatv est tetno in ebrietate' and later engraved initials PR, the right talon resting on the back of a frog with glass eyes, the left talon gripping a dolphin, the base with inscription 'Amico fideli nulla est comparatio', marked on the collar of the cover with town mark, date letter, maker's mark and several later control and tax marks.

Provenance: Mayer Carl von Rothschild (1820-1886),

His sixth surviving daughter Bertha Clara (1862-1903),

Her husband Prince Louis Berthier de Wagram (1836-1911), sold on his death

Georges Petit, Paris, Orfèvrerie Allemande, Flamande, Espagnole, Italienne Provenant de L’ancienne Collection du Baron Carl Mayer de Rothschild, 12-13 June 1911, no. 78,

Roger Janssen, Brussels,

bought from Francis Janssens van der Maelen, 2008,

thence by descent.

Literature: M. Rosenberg, Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen, 1928, TIV, p.71, no. 528b

Gents zilver in Laarne, magie van de edelsmeedkinst, Gent, 2009, p. 60, no. 5

Note: The de Giey family collection comprises seven zoomorphic cups bearing hallmarks from various regions of contemporary Belgium, forming a particularly rich and cohesive ensemble. The collectors recreated a cabinet of curiosities or kunstkammer, a tradition born during the Renaissance across European courts, especially in Northern Europe and England. Princes and elites sought to amass nature’s marvels, precious or unknown materials, exotic animals, anything to astonish visitors and display power. Zoomorphic cups fulfilled this need for ostentation: lions, bulls, and ostriches joined stags, horses, and birds, often blending materials like coconut shells and ostrich eggs to craft the cup’s body. These animals, laden with symbolism, are frequently linked to guilds—birds for crossbowmen or archers—or to serve as welcome cups (Willkommpokal) bearing a family or clan’s heraldic arms, or even as prizes awarded after a contest. Thus, a stag-shaped cup evokes hunting, a rooster—attribute of the Roman god Mercury—symbolizes trade, and a dolphin represents navigation.

The Owl, a Symbolic Animal

Today associated with mystery, night, sometimes fear, but also folly and gluttony, the owl has not always carried this symbolism. In ancient Greece, it is associated with the goddess Athena and the city of Athens, embodying wisdom and reason. Later, it serves as bait in hunts, its talon tethered to a rope, even acting as a bird of prey like a falcon, though less effectively. An owl cup in another private collection features a base engraved with hunting scenes, reinforcing this symbolism. The owl also heralds spring, emerging from a tree hollow as tradition dictates, later becoming the cuckoo in clocks and timepieces.

The owl further symbolizes drunkenness and excess, its digestion drawing an obvious parallel with an inebriated man. The whistle and bell on some owl cups may relate to a drinking game, akin to windmill goblets from the same regions. Yet, in 16th-century folklore, consuming owl eggs protects against poisoned wines.

With some cups, owls grip small animals like toads, turtles, or, in our case, a frog. This pairing may correspond to the German saying “Trinken wie ein Frosch” (drink like a frog). However, the frog also serves as a remedy for excessive drinking.

Two verses inscribed on our cup’s base further reference drinking, associating it with friendship on one hand, while cautioning against excess on the other. Thus, our cup clearly carries a connotation with wine.

'Vinv in ivcvditate creatv est tetno in ebrietate'

Wine was created for enjoyment, not drunkenness

'Amico fideli nulla est comparatio',

Nothing compares to a faithful friend

Owl Cups by Jan de Naghel

The goldsmith Jan de Naghel appears to have specialized in owl cups, with four other examples known bearing the same date letter C for 1557:

· One with the bird gripping a wine barrel, an evident reference to drinking, from the Schroder Collection, formerly sold at Christie’s London, June 17, 1919 (see V. Laloux, P. Cruysmans, The Owl’s Eye: The Goldsmiths’ Bestiary, Lausanne, 1994, p. 130).

Silver owl, perched on a curious tripod base, Jan de Naghel, hallmark of Grand, circa 1550, formerly in the collection of the Earl of Home, then sold at Christie's London 17 June 1919, now in the Schroder collection, London © Hugo Maertens

· Two cups in a private collection: the first gripping a flute with a lizard, the second depicting a great horned owl on a brass base.

· A final cup attributed to him, its location now unknown, from the former E. Gutmann Collection (Von Falke catalog, 1912, no. 131).

Our cup is particularly notable as it very likely depicts a long-eared or eagle owl, recognizable by the prominent, upturned ear tufts on the head. These owls live in Europe and owe their name to their massive, imposing, or aristocratic silhouette. The choice to represent the largest raptor of its species in Europe shows that the guild that adopted it aimed to evoke its power, wealth, and strength in comparison to other guilds.

Lot 503. A German parcel-gilt silver-mounted turbo shell cup and cover, Straubing, circa 1600, maker's mark a fleur-de-lis; 23.5cm high, 487gr. Lot Sold 685,800 GBP (Estimate 100,000 - 150,000 GBP) © Sotheby's 2025

The oval base chased with a band of foliage and turtles, swans, snails and snakes, with applied spider, frog and salamander, the upper section similarly decorated, the stem modelled as a mermaid applied with two ruby cabochons, supporting the turbo shell mounted with openwork scrolling bands with caryatid figures, the lip with a frieze of acanthus leaves, the cover with a pointed ovolo border and modelled as a whale swallowing Jonah on a watery ground, the inside set with a plaque engraved with a bird amongst foliage and applied with a coat-of-arms, marked on the lip of the cup and the rim of the foot with town mark and maker's mark

Provenance: Probably Thomas Dürnitzel zum Hönhart und der Azelburg, burgomaster of Straubing in 1606,

private collection, Munich, probably since 1928,

thence by descent,

Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 19 December 2005, lot 231,

thence by descent.

Note: The beauty and exoticism of turbo and nautilus shells have fascinated collectors in Europe since at least the end of the 13th century. The earliest known example of a silver-mounted cup making use of one of these shells is in the collection of All Souls College, Oxford, and can be dated to around 1300 by way of the enamelled coat-of-arms for Raoul de Nesle (died 1302). The early Dutch scientist Gerhardus Everardus Rumphius, working for the Dutch East India Company, (VOC) on Amboyna in the East Indies, records details of the nautilus shells found there in his D’AmboinischRaritkammer, (the Ambonese curiosity cabinet) published in Amsterdam in 1705:

‘...the shell is used most often to fashion beautiful drinking bowls such as those known in Europe; to do this one should use the biggest and smoothest ones and look very carefully that they do not have little holes that one can see through anon and which were made by certain warts…, a slimy worm that has a sharp little tooth which can drill through the hard shell…., One should place a complete one (Nautilus shell) in something sour for 10 or 12 days, such as spoiled rice, vinegar or water that has grape leaves rotting in it and then the outer shell will come away, which one should rub away by means of hard scouring…until the mother of pearl has come through everywhere, which one then rubs with a weak aqua-fortis, until it has acquired its perfect luster, and finally rinse it with soapy water’.

The maker's mark on the present lot (a fleur-de-lis) is unidentified but has been noted on three further items: a silver-gilt salt/spice cellar at the Schloss Ricklingen, Garben; an ampulla and dish at the church of St. Bartholomew in Niedermotzing; a chalice and paten, sold Sotheby's, Amsterdam, 31 October 2005, lot 1809. One possibility is Andre Schiller based on the fact that several coats-of-arms of the Schiller family consist of fleurs-de-lis.1 It is known that Andre Schiller's widow Christina Schreffin married Mathes Wiexner, another goldsmith, probably also from Straubing, around 1600.

The coat-of-arms on the inside of the cover belongs to the Dürniz/Dürnitzel family of Straubing. In 1606 Thomas Dürnitzel zum Hönhart und der Azelburg, mayor of Straubing, was enobled by the Emperor Rudolf II. The arms of Thomas Dürnitzel can be found on a windowpane in the Chapel of Dürnitzl, dated 1593.² His two sons, Johann Georg and Christoph also became mayors of Straubing.

The imagery of Jonah and the Whale can be found on nautilus shell cups and similar standing cups. A fine example is a drinking horn with Jonah and the whale imagery, now in the Berlin Kunstgewerbemuseum.³ The drinking horn was made by Caspar Schiller (of the same family) in Straubing in 1591. Not only the imagery, but also the shapes of the bases of both objects should be compared.

1. O. Neubecker; Grosses Wappen-Bilder-Lexikon
2. Die Kunstdenkmaler von Bayern, Vol. VI, Stadt Straubingen, p 38.
3. Stiftung Preussischer Kunstbesitz, Ausgewählte Werke; Berlin; 1963; no. 105

Lot 504. A pair of Flemish silver-gilt mounted rock crystal salts, Bruges, 1574/75, maker's mark a figure seated backwards on a horse; 11.5cm high, 487gr. Lot Sold 177,800 GBP (Estimate 80,000 - 120,000 GBP) © Sotheby's 2025

Circular form, the bases on three grotesque mask and ball feet, with ovolo borders, the bases with gadroons, the faceted rock crystal bodies held by hexagonal bezels with alternating round garnets and square amber cabochons, the rims with matching ovolo borders, engraved with scrollwork, marked on the undersides with town mark, date letter and maker's mark.

Provenance: Acquired from Galerie Bernard de Leye, Brussels, 2000,

thence by descent.

Literature: Zilver & Wandtapijten; Catalogus tentoonstelling; Gruuthusemuseum, Bruges; 19 July - 19th October 1980; pp.16-20
J. Van Damme et al. (ed); Gents zilver in Laarne, Magie van de edelsmeedkunst; Ghent; 2009; p.179
W. van Dievoet; Brugse edelsmeden van het ancient regime; Brussels; 2014; illus. plate II and back cover

Exhibited: Zilver & Wandtapijten; Gruuthusemuseum, Bruges; 19 July - 19th October 1980; No.235

Hallmarked clearly on the undersides.

Some minor marks due to age and use.

The engraved ornament is sharp.

The bottom rims (above the feet) are a little uneven.

Some minor chips to the edges and corners of the rock crystal.

The gilding may have been refreshed at some point.

One foot on one salt has a lead solder repair.

Note: While these salts seem to be the earliest Flemish examples by a considerable margin, there is a relatively large number of English salts surviving from the 16th century, and it is curious that so many of them make use of rock crystal. Its connection with salt is partly symbolic, the crystal being hard like the salt itself, but clear as the water from which it comes. Another suggestion, put forward by Philippa Glanville, is that the silversmiths in London were making use of the great quantity of rock crystal flooding on the market due to the confiscation of silver from churches, cathedrals and monasteries between 1536 and 1553.¹ Indeed, the term 'reliquary salt' is used to describe those examples which contain a hollow cylinder of rock crystal at their centres such as the Venus salt, hallmarked for London, 1577, in the collection of the MFA in Boston (51.1618a-b). Flanders itself was to suffer attacks on its churches in 1566. In Ghent the cathedral, eight churches, twenty-five monasteries and convents, ten hospitals and seven chapels were looted. In Antwerp the English merchant Richard Clough (1530–1570) provided an eye-witness account of the vandalism, recorded in a letter he wrote to Sir Thomas Tresham:

'...all the churches, chapels and houses of religion utterly defaced, and no kind of thing left whole within them, but broken and utterly destroyed...'.2

Protestants ‘Making a Clean Sweep’ of a Catholic Church, anonymous,1566. Print, 177 x 220 mm, Rijksmuseum (RP-P-OB-76.780)

Certainly, the monumentality of these Bruges salts is such that it is possible a silversmith fashioned them to fit two large pieces of rock crystal originally from a liturgical item.

In the Middle Ages rock crystal was mined in the Swiss Alps and has been mounted with precious metals for at least 2000 years, prized for its transparency and symbolising purity. The court of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy (1396-1467) in Bruges had several items of rock-crystal, including the gold-mounted Burgundian Court Goblet, made around 1465.³

An invaluable insight into the use of silver-mounted rock crystal in 15th century Bruges comes from the painting A Goldsmith in his Shop by Petrus Christus (c.1415-c.1475).⁴ On the bottom shelf behind the seated goldsmith is a silver-gilt-mounted coconut cup, a selection of rings and a large rock crystal vessel with a silver-gilt cover; the pelican finial suggests a religious use. One can also see, to the left of this vessel, a group of raw materials: coral, a piece of a red hardstone and a piece of rock crystal. This shows that the unmounted rock crystal was available for a customer to examine before commissioning the goldsmith to make it into an object in his workshop, demonstrating local manufacture of rock crystal objects in Bruges. The realism of the goldsmith's face in relation to those of his customers has led some to believe it to be a portrait, and it has been suggested that he could be Willem van Vleuten, a Bruges goldsmith who worked for Philip the Good.⁵

Petrus Christus, A Goldsmith in his Shop, Bruges, 1449. Oil on oak panel, 100.1 x 85.8 cm. Robert Lehman Collection, 1975.1.110 © The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The distinctive maker's mark of a figure seated backwards on a horse and possible playing an instrument has not been identified; these salts are the only known examples of work by this maker.

1. P. Glanville; Silver in Tudor and Early Stuart England; 1990; p.287
2. K. Kolrud (ed.) et al.; Iconoclasm from Antiquity to Modernity; 2014; p.120
3. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, KK 27
4. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object number 1975.1.110
5. M. Ainsworth; Intentional Alterations of Early Netherlandish Paintings; Metropolitan Museum Journal; 2005; Vol.40, pp.51-65

Lot 506. A Flemish silver and enamel dish, Jan Crabbe, Bruges, 1547/48; 30cm diameter, 501gr. Lot Sold 20,320 GBP (Estimate 18,000 - 25,000 GBP) © Sotheby's 2025

Provenance: Bought from Baron Frédéric Rolin, 1976,

thence by descent.

Literature: Chefs-d’œuvre d’orfèvrerie de collections privées; Gent; Bijlokemuseum; 1985; p.169
D. Marechal; Chefs-d'oeuvre de l'orfèvrerie brugeoise; Bruges; 1993; p.22

Exhibited: Chefs-d’œuvre d’orfèvrerie de collections privées; Gent; Bijlokemuseum; 19 April-30 June 1985; n°111
D. Marechal; expo. Meesterwerken van de Brugge, Edelsmeedkunst; 7 July-10 October 1993; Bruges; 1993; n°237

Note: Until recently the present lot has been misdated as 1595/96. Research carried out by Walter van Dievoet into the similar makers' marks belonging to the Crabbe dynasty of silversmiths and the date letter system of Bruges now points convincingly at 1547/48 as the more likely date.¹ This is further supported by the marital coat-of-arms on the dish which is also found on a triptych painted by the Bruges artist Adriaen Isenbrandt who died in 1551.²

The enamelled coat-of-arms in the centre of dish are for a member of the Pardo family and his wife. The presence of Spanish surnames in Bruges in the 15th century onwards is primarily due to the court held there by Philip the Good (1396-1467), Duke of Burgundy and ruler of Flanders. Philip helped to establish the 'Spanish Nation', in essence a guild created to protect its members' economic interests and political privileges. One estimation puts the number of Spanish merchants permanently residing in Bruges in the mid-15th century at 50.³ The first recorded Pardo in Bruges was Silvestre who settled there around 1484 as a representative of his family's wool business at Burgos, importing Spanish wool and exporting Flemish cloth and luxury items. The family rose in importance, and Silvestre's grandson Juan Pardo II became mayor of Bruges in 1574.

1. W. van Dievoet; Brugse edelseden van het ancien regime; Brussels; 2014; p.63
2. Groeningemuseum, Bruges (O.1376)(https://balat.kikirpa.be/photo.php?path=B133713&objnr=94601)
3. O. Gelderblom; Cities of Commerce: the institutional foundations of international trade in the Low Countries, 1250-1650; Princeton University Press; 2015

Lot 513. A Dutch silver-mounted drinking horn, Dordrecht, 1593, maker's mark a rose or bunch of grapes; 12cm high. Lot Sold 50,800  GBP (Estimate 40,000 - 60,000 GBP) © Sotheby's 2025

Provenance: Bought from A. Aardewerk, TEFAF, Maastricht, 2008,

thence by descent

Literature: H. Breet; De Dordtse Roos: Zilversmeedkunst in Dordrecht 1495-1807; Zwolle; 2022; p.114.

Note: The guild system in Dordrecht developed in the 13th century and in 1367 their powers had been confirmed by Albert I, ruler of Holland, allowing members access to local government, a privilege unique among Dutch cities.¹ The two most influential guilds were the Butchers and Fishmongers who held a monopoly on the sale of their respective commodities in Dordrecht.

The names engraved on the silver mounts of the present lot are members of the Dordrecht Fishmongers' Guild. A further drinking horn, hallmarked for Dordrecht, 1608, with the mark of David Reyniers, is in the collection of the Art & History Museum, Brussels, and is also engraved with the names of members of the Fishmongers' Guild: two of the names are the same as those on the present lot (Jan Jasperz Coninck and Wouter Jans Duinen). The Fishmongers seem to have been wealthy around the time these two horns were made, as evidenced by their commissioning a new guildhall in the latest style on Fish Street in 1607.Horn cups were particularly popular amongst guilds in the 16th and 17th century, and a set of four was made in 1688 for the Butchers' Guild in Dordrecht, now in the collection of the Huis van Gijn.²

The Dutch tradition of silver-mounted horns was described by Worp van Thabor in his Chronicon Frisiae, written between 1517 and 1538: '...they have enormous horns of wild animals, of great content, with golden and silver plates surrounding the opening’. A silver-mounted horn of truly astounding proportions, now in the Rijksmuseum, was made for the Amsterdam Company of Arquebusiers in 1547 and can be seen in action in the painting Celebration of the Peace of Münster, 1648, at the Crossbowmen's Headquarters by Bartholomeus van der Helst (fig.1).

Bartholomeus van der Helst, Celebration of the Peace of Münster, 18 june 1648, at the Crossbowmen's Headquarters, 1648. Oil on canvas, 232 x 547 cm. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

The maker's mark on the present lot, which appears to be a rose or bunch of grapes, has not been identified nor has it ben noted on any other item.

1. J. Dijkman; Shaping Medieval Markets: the Organisation of Commodity Markets in Holland, c. 1200 - c. 1450; Leiden; 2011; p.94
2. Huis van Gijn, Dordrecht, inv. 1363

Lot 516. A Flemish silver-gilt cup, Lenaert Zerle, Antwerp, 1523/24; 18cm high. Lot Sold 88,900 GBP (Estimate 60,000 - 80,000 GBP) © Sotheby's 2025

The spreading foot chased with acanthus leaves, the ring with champlevé enamelled leaves, the lower part of the stem fluted and adorned with applied volutes, the upper part with a disc knop between two beaded rings and applied with rosettes, the cup overlaid with a chased sleeve depicting three scenes: the death of Samson, Mucius Scaevola before Lars Porsenna, and a man before a fire; the rim dot-prick engraved with leaves, with two monograms on the underside of the base, marked on the lip with town mark, date letter and maker's mark.
 

Provenance: Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911),
seized from the descendants of the above by Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (no. R 2933), returned after 1945,
Christie's, Paris, 6 November 2014, lot 324,
bought from Galerie Kugel, Paris,
thence by descent

Literature: Les grandes Collections au Trocadéro; L'Art; 1878; vol.III; p. 270
Exposition Universelle de 1878: l'art ancien; Gazette des Beaux-Arts; 1878; p. 246

Exhibited: Exposition Universelle; Paris; 1 May-10 November 1878

Antwerp: a major centre of silverware

This cup is one of the rare and precious testaments to mid-16th-century Antwerp goldsmithing.

The river city is strategically located, enabling it to become a major commercial hub between Europe, the East and the New World as early as the Middle Ages. Indeed, the first stock exchange was established in 1531 by merchants connecting India to America, and Portugal made Antwerp one of its primary ports. By the 16th century, Antwerp grew into one of Europe’s largest cities. With a prosperous local population, it is unsurprising that the decorative arts flourished, allowing artisans to receive prestigious commissions. The guilds, wealthy merchants, clergy, and nobility commissioned a variety of objects in gold, silver, and often adorned with enamels, a speciality of Central Europe.

The present cup is stamped with the maker’s mark of the goldsmith Lenaert I Zerle. Originally from Augsburg, one of Germany’s foremost goldsmithing centres specialising in enamels, he passed his mastership before 1512 and married Lysbeth van der Heggen in 1524. He died in 1528, leaving a widow and three children, including the goldsmith Lenaert II Zerle.

The style of the depicted scenes can be compared to other works produced in Antwerp at the time, the finest example being the silver-gilt covered cup known as the Saint Michael Cup, dated to the 1530s, held at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna (Kunstkammer, 1120). This cup was delivered to King Francis I around 1530 by Joris Vezeler, a prominent Antwerp merchant and goldsmith. It was later offered as a gift by Charles IX to Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol on the occasion of his marriage to Archduchess Elisabeth. At the time, this cup was considered a masterpiece, as three other prestigious pieces were presented on the same occasion, including the iconic salt cellar by Cellini. Comparing the scenes of these two pieces reveals striking similarities, particularly in the use of an amati background, the depiction of elongated figures inspired by contemporary Italian artists, and the nearly identical gadrooned and hatched borders. The Saint Michael Cup lacks a maker’s mark but closely resembles Zerle’s work.

Ornamental Cup, so-called Saint Michael’s Cup, 1532, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Kunstkammer Wien Room XXIX, inv. 1120 © Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien

Other Antwerp cups illustrate the dexterity of the city’s goldsmiths from this period. A covered cup from the collections of Cardinal Sfondrati, nephew of Pope Gregory XIV, dated 1530/31, is preserved at the Vatican Museum (inv. MV.61850.0.0). It features the same use of expansive scenes on the cup with gadrooned borders. Additionally, a cup dated 1521/22 is preserved at the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich (inv. 53/136), originating from the renowned Pringsheim Collection.

Left: Parade Cup, Antwerp, 1530–1531, Vatican Museums, inv. MV.61850.0.0. © Vatican Museums

Right: Lidded Goblet, Antwerp, c. 1521-1522, Bavarian National museum (Room 27), inv. 53/136 © Bayerisches Nationalmuseum

Another cup, dated circa 1530, is preserved at the Westfries museum (inv.01800.ab) with similar scrolling flowered elements as on our cup.

Gold and Silver Ceremonial Cup, Antwerp/Nuremberg, circa 1530-1540, Westfries Museum, inv. 01800.ab. © Westfries Museum Hoorn

Antwerp’s production must have been more extensive, but many objects were unfortunately melted down or destroyed due to wars or changing tastes and fashions. The Saint Michael Cup survived because it is part of the Austrian royal collections, which did not experience revolutions as in France; the Sfondrati cup because it was kept in a church in Rome; and the Munich Museum’s cup because, like ours, it comes from a 19th-century private collection.

History and provenance
Our cup, with its distinctive iconography featuring two ancient heroes—one from the Old Testament and the other from Roman history, united by the theme of sacrifice—may have been a guild cup or a gift from a guild to a prince or landgrave of the city. It could thus have been sold after the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, when guilds are abolished, and their treasures dispersed. Goldsmithing was highly prized by 19th-century collectors, symbolising the cabinets of curiosities of Renaissance princes, with many pieces depicted in still-life paintings by Flemish and German artists of the period. Major collections are thus formed across Europe, such as those of the Ephrussi, Spitzer, Pringsheim, and, above all, the Rothschild banking family.

Our cup almost certainly originates from the collection of one of its members, Gustave (1829–1911), from the French branch. In 1859, he married Cécile Anspach, and, like the rest of this renowned dynasty, Gustave is a discerning and prolific collector, known particularly for his taste in painting, enamels, and antiquities.

In 1878, during the Paris Universal Exhibition, the Trocadéro Palace hosted a major retrospective titled “Ancient Art,” aiming to present the history of art from prehistory onward. Numerous private collectors lend pieces, including the Ephrussi, Rothschild, Mr. Grandjean, Spitzer, and others. Some of the works are published in L’art, revue hebdomadaire illustrée, fourth year, 1878. Among the exhibited pieces, a “cup, adorned with enamel inlays on the lid and stem, depicting on the body of the vessel Samson toppling the temple columns on one side and the story of Mucius Scaevola on the other, a piece of elegant and refined design and excellent craftsmanship” is mentioned. This description appears to match the scenes on our cup, with the foot ring featuring enamel, but the missing lid unfortunately prevents us from definitively confirming its attribution. The cup is mentioned again in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, in the article L’art Ancien à l’exposition universelle de 1878, where the author attributes the piece to an Italian goldsmith. This confusion is entirely plausible, as Antwerp goldsmiths, as previously noted, drew inspiration from engravings by contemporary Italian artists.

Our cup then remained in the Rothschild family collections until its auction in Paris at Christie’s on November 6, 2014, lot 324. Baron and Baroness de Giey particularly appreciated Antwerp goldsmithing, owning several 16th-century pieces such as the silver magpie (lot 509), cups, and pointed dishes, so it is unsurprising that they chose to acquire this cup to complete their magnificent collection of Brabant goldsmithing.

Lot 517. A German silver-gilt horse cup, Christoph Müller, Breslau, circa 1700; 20cm high, 651gr.. Lot Sold 82,550 GBP (Estimate 40,000 - 630,000 GBP) © Sotheby's 2025

Realistically modeled with fur chasing, rearing on a base chased and embossed with a tree stump, turtle, frog and insects, marked on the bezel of the head and on the rim of the base with town mark and maker's mark.

Provenance: The Ludwig Cahn-Speyer Collection, Vienna (before 1906),

with J. Boehler, Munich,

Rita da Costa Lydig, New York,

The American Art Association, New York, 1-3 April, 1913, lot 23,

Martin Birnbaum (1878-1970), New York,

Christie’s, New York, 19 October 2012, lot 73,

bought from S.J. Philips, TEFAF, Maastricht, 2014,

thence by descent

Literature: E. Hintze; Die Breslauer Goldschmiede; 1906; p. 121

Note: Breslau, now Wrocław in south-western Poland, was situated favourably at the cross-roads of two major trading routes. The city suffered heavily during the Thirty Years' War, but towards the end of the 17th century it experienced an economic revival and also became a centre of learning and literature

Christoph Müller (1655-1735) was born in Breslau and was the father of the goldsmith Johann Christoph Müller. His surviving work includes a variety of objects, including a münzdeckelbecher (a beaker set with coins), perhaps pertinently, covered with 1/3 thalers issued by the Brunswick duchies, the obverse of which features a leaping horse (the Saxon Steed).

Sotheby's. Silver Treasures from the Collection of Baron and Baronne Bertrand de Giey, London, 2 July 2025