Lot 720. A German silver-gilt fruit-shaped cup and cover, Christoph Ritter I, Nuremberg, 1569-76. 25.5cm.,10in. high. 274gr., 8oz. 16dwt. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 GBP. Lot sold 60,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

wood-cutter and trunk stem, the body, cover and foot flat-chased with male and female masks, strapwork and fruit, warrior finial, marked on body, cover and foot.

Associated literature: Timothy Schroder, Renaissance Silver from the Schroder collection, London, 2007, no. 54 Karin Tebbe et al. Nürnberger Goldschmiedekunst 1541-1868, p. 342

Note: Christoph Ritter I was not a native of Nuremberg, but probably came from Vienna, like his more famous contemporary Wenzel Jamnitzer. An enamelled salt purchased from him by the Nuremberg city council in 1551 and which subsesquently became part of the Holford and then Schroder collections, was at one point thought to be Jamnitzer’s work. The two goldsmiths were undoubtedly closely connected, with  Jamnitzer acting as goldfather to two of Ritter’s sons, one of whom was called Wenzel.