.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This extraordinary mirror with a frame entirely fashioned from luminescent amber is a rare survival from the revered production of amber objects, one of Northern Europe’s storied and most coveted creative legacies. Harvested from the shores of the Baltic, this rarified material was among the most treasured in Europe, and played an important role in the form of diplomatic gifts from the emerging powers around the Baltic Sea. Finely worked amber caskets, games boards, cups and other objects could be found in the Kunstkammern of the wealthiest and most learned rulers and merchants, including those of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and Frederick II, King of Denmark.
Amber seems always to have enjoyed a mythic status, and was long prized for the healing properties it was thought to possess. Tales of its origins were equally exotic; one story related that amber was made up of the fossilised tears of Phaeton's sisters, who wept when the ill-fated hero lost control of his father's chariot of the sun and was struck down by one of Jupiter's bolts.
In fact, amber is made of the fossilised resin of trees, and in Europe, the source of almost all amber was from the Baltic region. Before the Baltic was formed approximately 100,000 years ago, the area was covered in a forest which produced large quantities of resin (M. Trusted, Catalogue of European Ambers in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1985, p.9) Amber is known to have been worked from pre-historic times, and in the Middle Ages there was a flourishing trade, particularly spurred by the use of amber for rosaries. However, it was with the rise of the idea of the Kunstkammer in the Renaissance courts of Europe that the fascination with amber reached its apogee.
The presence of the Prussian court at Königsberg meant that the most important centre for amber carving in the early decades of the 17th century was based there, and although its pre-eminence was to be challenged by other centres - such as Danzig - later in the century, it remained important for the production of works of art in amber until well into the 18th century.
A related mirror, originally surmounted by a carved eagle, such as those seen in the cresting of the present lot, signed by Johann Köster is now in the Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig, and employs the same classical vocabulary as seen in the present lot. The cresting, embellished with Jupiter’s eagles bound by garlands of fruit, above a marine trophy including a pair of sporting dolphins emblematic of Venus implies that this mirror could have commissioned on the occasion of a marriage. Placed in a kunstkammer with other precious objects, this amber mirror would have fascinated and delighted its owners and their guests, who could contemplate the beauty of the materials and the virtuosity of the design.
STOKESAY COURT
The mirror was formerly in the collection of Lady Magnus Allcroft of Stokesay Court in Shropshire. Stokesay Court was built by John Derby Allcroft, a millionaire glove-manufacturer and the very model of the successful Victorian entrepreneur. Stokesay Court was filled with a notable collection of pictures purchased from the walls of the Royal Academy. J.D Allcroft died before the interiors of Stokesay Court were completed and as a result his son, Herbert John Allcroft added considerably to the contents at Stokesay. In 1894-95 he had travelled around the world, bringing back purchases from his exotic travels to Japan, Hong-Kong, North America, India and Egypt to name but a few. In 1900 Herbert married Margaret Jane ‘Cissie’ Russell and many Russel family heirlooms were added to the Allcroft Chattels, including furniture, china, silver. In 1906 Cissie inherited a large collection of furniture upon the death of her cousin Hugh Pigot and she also bought extensively at a sale of the contents of the neighbouring Oakley Park in 1944 following the death of the Earl of Plymouth. The house then passed by descent to Jewell, Lady Magnus Allcroft following the death of her brother in 1950.
Amber seems always to have enjoyed a mythic status, and was long prized for the healing properties it was thought to possess. Tales of its origins were equally exotic; one story related that amber was made up of the fossilised tears of Phaeton's sisters, who wept when the ill-fated hero lost control of his father's chariot of the sun and was struck down by one of Jupiter's bolts.
In fact, amber is made of the fossilised resin of trees, and in Europe, the source of almost all amber was from the Baltic region. Before the Baltic was formed approximately 100,000 years ago, the area was covered in a forest which produced large quantities of resin (M. Trusted, Catalogue of European Ambers in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1985, p.9) Amber is known to have been worked from pre-historic times, and in the Middle Ages there was a flourishing trade, particularly spurred by the use of amber for rosaries. However, it was with the rise of the idea of the Kunstkammer in the Renaissance courts of Europe that the fascination with amber reached its apogee.
The presence of the Prussian court at Königsberg meant that the most important centre for amber carving in the early decades of the 17th century was based there, and although its pre-eminence was to be challenged by other centres - such as Danzig - later in the century, it remained important for the production of works of art in amber until well into the 18th century.
A related mirror, originally surmounted by a carved eagle, such as those seen in the cresting of the present lot, signed by Johann Köster is now in the Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig, and employs the same classical vocabulary as seen in the present lot. The cresting, embellished with Jupiter’s eagles bound by garlands of fruit, above a marine trophy including a pair of sporting dolphins emblematic of Venus implies that this mirror could have commissioned on the occasion of a marriage. Placed in a kunstkammer with other precious objects, this amber mirror would have fascinated and delighted its owners and their guests, who could contemplate the beauty of the materials and the virtuosity of the design.
STOKESAY COURT
The mirror was formerly in the collection of Lady Magnus Allcroft of Stokesay Court in Shropshire. Stokesay Court was built by John Derby Allcroft, a millionaire glove-manufacturer and the very model of the successful Victorian entrepreneur. Stokesay Court was filled with a notable collection of pictures purchased from the walls of the Royal Academy. J.D Allcroft died before the interiors of Stokesay Court were completed and as a result his son, Herbert John Allcroft added considerably to the contents at Stokesay. In 1894-95 he had travelled around the world, bringing back purchases from his exotic travels to Japan, Hong-Kong, North America, India and Egypt to name but a few. In 1900 Herbert married Margaret Jane ‘Cissie’ Russell and many Russel family heirlooms were added to the Allcroft Chattels, including furniture, china, silver. In 1906 Cissie inherited a large collection of furniture upon the death of her cousin Hugh Pigot and she also bought extensively at a sale of the contents of the neighbouring Oakley Park in 1944 following the death of the Earl of Plymouth. The house then passed by descent to Jewell, Lady Magnus Allcroft following the death of her brother in 1950.