An exceptional Augsburg Ormolou-Mounted Ebony, Ivory and Mother-of-Pearl Cabinet
An exceptional Augsburg Ormolou-Mounted Ebony, Ivory and Mother-of-Pearl Cabinet
from the Collections of the Princes of Reuß
attributed to the workshop of Ulrich Baumgartner (1580-1652)
Augsburg, ca. 1605/10, (Table stand ca. 1850)
h: 78 cm; w: 84 cm; d: 50,5 cm
Ebony furniture came into fashion in Augsburg in the late 16th century and from about 1580
the costly tropical wood ,which was imported first through Venice and then after the founding
of the Dutch East lndia Company in 1602 almost exclusively through Amsterdam, was used
from the cabinet makers.
The value of ebony at the end of the 16th century is documented in a guild dispute between
turners and cabinetmakers regarding permission to process ebony, which was decided in favor of the cabinetmakers in 1588.
Ulrich Baumgartner was considered the best cabinetmaker in Augsburg at the time and from the turn of the 17th cent. his workshop created (partly based on traditions from the late 16th cent.), some of the most magnificent pieces, such as the famous Pomeranian art cabinet, which were sold by the art agent Philipp Hainhofer to Duke Philip II of Pomerania.
Prov.:
- Heinrich XXIV Reuß, elder line (1878-Greiz-1927)„Neue Burg“/Unteres Schloss Greiz, Thuringia
- by inheritance or previous dowry to his daughter Marie Agnes Princess Reuß zu Greiz,
(1882-1942), married 1904 Baron Ferdinand von Gnagnoni (1878-1955), resided at
Emmerdorf Castle/ Carinthia, Austria
- owned by the heirs
- private collection, Austria
the costly tropical wood ,which was imported first through Venice and then after the founding
of the Dutch East lndia Company in 1602 almost exclusively through Amsterdam, was used
from the cabinet makers.
The value of ebony at the end of the 16th century is documented in a guild dispute between
turners and cabinetmakers regarding permission to process ebony, which was decided in favor of the cabinetmakers in 1588.
Ulrich Baumgartner was considered the best cabinetmaker in Augsburg at the time and from the turn of the 17th cent. his workshop created (partly based on traditions from the late 16th cent.), some of the most magnificent pieces, such as the famous Pomeranian art cabinet, which were sold by the art agent Philipp Hainhofer to Duke Philip II of Pomerania.
Prov.:
- Heinrich XXIV Reuß, elder line (1878-Greiz-1927)„Neue Burg“/Unteres Schloss Greiz, Thuringia
- by inheritance or previous dowry to his daughter Marie Agnes Princess Reuß zu Greiz,
(1882-1942), married 1904 Baron Ferdinand von Gnagnoni (1878-1955), resided at
Emmerdorf Castle/ Carinthia, Austria
- owned by the heirs
- private collection, Austria
