Showcase 39. Artworks by Hamburg silversmiths

The Armoury collection of the Hamburg silver consists of more than three hundred pieces and represents works by 70 makers of the late XVIth-early XVIIIth centuries. Hamburg was one of the richest port towns in Germany, where Russian merchants purchased gold, silver and articles made of precious metals. The Hamburg jewellers were known for their varied techniques of metalworking and jewellery-making.

The museum possesses numerous artworks by the Hamburg silversmiths and 4 works by Jacob Mores the Elder, a successful merchant and head of a leading workshop. They include three goblets in the form of vases, decorated with figurative and floral ornament, and a horn carved from the elephant's tusk and enchased in silver. Works Jacob Mores the Elder and his educational and commercial activities helped to raise the skill of the Hamburg goldsmiths and secure many esteemed orders from the royal courts of Denmark and Sweden.

Characteristic features of the Hamburg articles are high-relief chasing, embossed ornamentation, the use of flat engraving and and development of decorative sculpture. From the 1650s the ornamentation of the Hamburg silverware included popular floral design. This fashion is evident when viewing the vase with a tulip-shaped bowl and the dish chase with floral ornament. Royal receptions and tradition of awarding silver articles for various services required a vast amount of silver articles. The Moscow government gave foreign makers special commissions resulted in development of specific types of silverware, which forms were typical of Russian plates and decor imitated ornament of West-european jewellery. Thus we find loving-cups among the goblets, wash-jugs and dishes.