Any sale where European silver plays a big role is likely to see the goldsmiths of Nuremberg well represented, and so it was at Woolley & Wallis’ most recent two-day auction in Salisbury.
Three of the leading pieces came from the
same deceased dealer's estate and all demolished here-to-sell
three-figure estimates when they sold to Continental buyers.
Shown left is a 6oz, 8½in (21.5cm)
silver-gilt cup by the Fern Family, Nuremberg, from the latter half
of the 17th century.
The stem was catalogued a/f ('at fault') but
the piece had no difficulty selling at £4600. From some decades
earlier was a c.1700, 4½oz silver-gilt part table fountain by
Thomas Stoer the Elder. Featuring a tapering circular bowl and
tapering stem with three spouts, it sold at £4000.
Catalogued as probably 19th century,
an 11.5oz, 6½in (16cm) tall silver-gilt beaker and cover, with
chased foliate decoration, made £5800.
Entered by a different vendor was a 4½in
(11cm) tall 17th century silver-gilt bowl of a wine cup by an
unknown Nuremberg maker, with panels of cherubs and a detachable
foliate mount.
Estimated at £150-200 for the sale on July
17-18, it sold at £3000.
The buyer's premium was 22%
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