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Lot Essay
Erasmus Habermel (fl.1585-1606), instrument maker to Rudolf II in Prague, is considered to be one of the greatest Renaissance instrument makers. His instruments are of outstanding quality and rarely come to market (an astrolabe for the Duke of Parma sold at Christie's King Street, 11 October 1995, for £540,500). Unsurprisingly, his are amongst the earliest instruments to be copied and imitated.
In 1911, an article by GC Williamson appeared in The Art Journal reporting on the sale of the Strozzi collection of mathematical instruments. In it, he compared Habermel to Stradivarius! And it is around this time that the first reproductions appeared, many of which subsequently found their way into national collections.
In 1956, Derek Price, a researcher at the Whipple Museum, brought to the attention of international curators a group of alarmingly similar scientific instruments in their collections, most of which had a provenance tracing back to the collector/dealer Anton Mensing. Subsquent research has questioned his personal involvement, and that of his restorers the Feeterse brothers, but it is Mensing who lends his name to the forgeries.
Probably made between 1911 and 1928, the quality of the engraving and workmanship varies considerably amongst the 'Mensing instruments'. However, all can be identified as being of lesser quality than the 16th-century productions, and as being made from near-pure copper, rather than brass from the era.
Habermel is one of the more common names to see on 'Mensing instruments', but the copyists also produced multiple instruments by the leading makers of 16th-century Europe. However the existence of one maker, Johannes Bos, has been called into question.
In 1911, an article by GC Williamson appeared in The Art Journal reporting on the sale of the Strozzi collection of mathematical instruments. In it, he compared Habermel to Stradivarius! And it is around this time that the first reproductions appeared, many of which subsequently found their way into national collections.
In 1956, Derek Price, a researcher at the Whipple Museum, brought to the attention of international curators a group of alarmingly similar scientific instruments in their collections, most of which had a provenance tracing back to the collector/dealer Anton Mensing. Subsquent research has questioned his personal involvement, and that of his restorers the Feeterse brothers, but it is Mensing who lends his name to the forgeries.
Probably made between 1911 and 1928, the quality of the engraving and workmanship varies considerably amongst the 'Mensing instruments'. However, all can be identified as being of lesser quality than the 16th-century productions, and as being made from near-pure copper, rather than brass from the era.
Habermel is one of the more common names to see on 'Mensing instruments', but the copyists also produced multiple instruments by the leading makers of 16th-century Europe. However the existence of one maker, Johannes Bos, has been called into question.