Beschreibung:

A fine and rare Silesian engraved footed beaker, Hermsdorf, circa 1725In the manner of rock crystal, the tapering bowl divided into six panels, each decorated in Tiefschnitt with a nude 'flower child' holding an oversized flower, one with a seated dog by his side and an urn of fruit in the distance, another with a single flowerhead by his feet and a tray of fruit upon an ornate pedestal beside him, the base cut with thumbnail facets and polished ovals between bands of facets, the conical foot with a band of polished thumbnail flutes to the underside and a faceted footrim, 14.9cm highFootnotesThis beaker belongs to a distinct group of glasses all similarly engraved with children holding oversized flowers. A footed beaker of very similar form, also engraved with panels of so-called 'flower children', is illustrated by Rudolf von Strasser and Walter Spiegl, Dekoriertes Glas (1989), p.260, no.119 and also by von Strasser, Licht und Farbe (2002), pp.286-7, no.167, where it is attributed to Hersmdorf. Another is illustrated by Brigitte Klesse, Glassammlung Helfried Krug, Vol.1 (1965), pp.214-5, no.214 and was sold by Sotheby's as part of the Krug Collection on 14 March 1983, lot 802. A goblet similarly engraved with flower children is illustrated by Robert Schmidt Die Gläser der Sammlung Mühsam, Vol.2 (1926), p.39 and pl.18, no.139. Save for the present lot, all are characterised by panels of 'flower children' alternating with panels of strapwork, a motif not seen on Silesian glass before about 1720 but particularly popular in the 1730s, see von Strasser (2002), pp.284-7. The unusual absence of any such ornament on the present lot suggests that it probably pre-dates the 1730s and may well be one of the earliest in this series. The 'flower children' themselves would appear to have been inspired by earlier glasses engraved with putti by master engravers such as Martin Winter and Gottfried Spiller, see von Strasser (2002), pp.283-6, nos.165 and 166 for a footed beaker and a goblet decorated with comparable figures of children attributable to these engravers. The baroque flowers themselves are highly reminiscent of Tiefschnitt flowers by the celebrated glass cutter and engraver Friedrich Winter circa 1700-10, see for example the beaker illustrated by von Strasser (2002), pp.282-3, no.164, the goblet and cover by Winter illustrated by Brigitte Klesse and Alex von Saldern, 500 Jahre Glaskunst (1978), p.171, no.108, and the goblet illustrated by Brigitte Klesse, Glassammlung Helfried Krug, vo.2 (1973), pp.172-3, no.563. Compare also to two remarkable goblets by Friedrich Winter from the Klaus Biemann Collection, offered by Bonhams on 26 November 2014, lots 8 and 9, where similarities in the style and execution of the flowers are particularly evident.