Showcase 35. Articles made by Nuremberg goldsmiths

The Armoury collection of the Nuremberg silver consists of two hundred and sixty five items, the Renaissance silverware in particular. It represents works of a hundred and twenty craftsmen and covers the period from the XVth to XVIIth centuries thus revealing types and tendencies of the Nuremberg goldsmithery as well as the evolution of its forms, materials and ornamentation.

Nuremberg was the main center of silver-making in Germany until the end of the XVIIth century. By the end of the XVth century the town has already had a well-developed trade and industry of jewellery-making. The Nuremberg makers executed silverware of varied forms for religious and secular purposes but above all they were famed for outstanding goblets. Engravings and drawings by well-known artists, such as Albrecht Durer, Hans Holbein the Younger and Peter Flotner, served as a source of inspiration for the Nuremberg craftsmen. For example, thanks to Durer's sketchers and engravings remarkable goblets appeared in the shape of apples, pears and pumpkins and the stems of vessels acquired a form of tree trunks entwined with vines.

The flowering of applied arts in Germany was promoted by its proximity to Italy. German jewellers quickly adopted forms of the Italian Renaissance. They were interested in the real world and representations of animals and plants. A characteristic feature of the Nuremberg style was its balanced proportions, horizontal division and clarity of forms. The ornament of the style was incredibly diverse. Craftsmen decorated articles with masks, vases, torches and "putti" and the so-called "Rollwerk" (belted braiding), which predominated within ornamentation.

Among the Nuremberg jewellers of the XVIIth century members of the Jamnitzer family are worthy of particular attention. The head of the family Wenzel Jamnitzer was a silversmith, engraver and a scholar, whose artworks influenced many German makers. He created a goblet shaped as a bluebell, forms of which had to be repeated by every maker seeking for a title of master. This jeweller was the first to design the main types of the Nuremberg goblets with figures of Roman warriors and allegories of the virtues on the lids.

 

In the middle of the XVIth century silverware was executed not only for the nobility but also for the middle class. The so-called "amusement" utensils appeared, designed to entertain guests, for example goblets in the form of sailing ships. Goblets in the Renaissance and Neo-Gothic styles became widespread. Artworks were chased with convex bosses imitating grape, apple, pineapple, which both give a massive appearance and show off the reflecting qualities of the surface. Their lids were decorated with silver bouquets of flowers; stems were executed in the form of tree trunks, cherubs or small vases with handles.

In the mid-XVIIth century form of goblets was transformed and became more elongated. Their bowls, narrowing in the middle, were chased with large protuberance. The stems were made in shape of faceted banisters. Cartilaginous ornament, typical of the baroque style, became the most widespread decorative motif.