拍品专文
The present cup is one of a group of closely related owl-shaped cups, all the others bearing the mark of Jan de Naghel. They have in common the strikingly realistic representation of the bird's body and general attitude, skillful treatment of the plumage and also specific decorative details such as glass eyes and gilding of specific parts of the body.
V. Laloux (L'Oeil du Hibou, 1994, in collaboration with Ph. Coreysmans) records two in a private collection, Brussels (illustrated in Orfèvrerie en Belgique, Brussels, 1988, p. 57); one in the Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Museum in Dortmund; one in a private collection, London; and one in the Schroder collection, London (illustrated and extensively discussed by T. Schroder, The Art of the European Goldsmith, Silver from the Schroder Collection, New York, 1983). A further example was in the Carl Meyer de Rothschild collection sold at Paris Drouot on 12th and 13th June, 1911 (nr. 78 of the catalogue).
Closest to the present piece are the Schroder and Rothschild examples with what appears to be an identical treatment of the owl itself, the latter resting on a frog very similar to the present example. Furthermore, both cups are engraved with inscriptions, as indeed the present cup was: traces of which can be distinguished, as on the Schroder owl, on the lip of the detachable head.
The present cup has obviously undergone minor transformations. Not only were the inscriptions on the head erased, at which time part of the lip might have been cut off; this would then account for the lack of marks on the head. But also a device, most probably a coat-of-arms, was attached to the base and later removed, leaving holes in the base and beneath the frog's mouth.
V. Laloux (L'Oeil du Hibou, 1994, in collaboration with Ph. Coreysmans) records two in a private collection, Brussels (illustrated in Orfèvrerie en Belgique, Brussels, 1988, p. 57); one in the Kunst und Kulturgeschichte Museum in Dortmund; one in a private collection, London; and one in the Schroder collection, London (illustrated and extensively discussed by T. Schroder, The Art of the European Goldsmith, Silver from the Schroder Collection, New York, 1983). A further example was in the Carl Meyer de Rothschild collection sold at Paris Drouot on 12th and 13th June, 1911 (nr. 78 of the catalogue).
Closest to the present piece are the Schroder and Rothschild examples with what appears to be an identical treatment of the owl itself, the latter resting on a frog very similar to the present example. Furthermore, both cups are engraved with inscriptions, as indeed the present cup was: traces of which can be distinguished, as on the Schroder owl, on the lip of the detachable head.
The present cup has obviously undergone minor transformations. Not only were the inscriptions on the head erased, at which time part of the lip might have been cut off; this would then account for the lack of marks on the head. But also a device, most probably a coat-of-arms, was attached to the base and later removed, leaving holes in the base and beneath the frog's mouth.