ANTIQUE 19thC GERMAN SOLID SILVER HUNTING HORN CUP, SCHLEISSNER & SOHNE c.1890
19th Century German solid silver lidded drinking cup, shaped as a hunting horn. Embossed throughout with hunting scenes, depicting hunters riding on horseback through a dense forest, chasing a stag.
Hallmarked with German pseudo marks (800), Hanau, Maker Schleissner & Sohne
Reference Number: A6371
DESCRIPTION
Antique late-19th Century German solid silver lidded drinking cup, shaped as a hunting horn. Embossed throughout with hunting scenes, depicting hunters riding on horseback through a dense forest, chasing a stag. The horn supported by a hunter with is hunting dog surrounded by elaborate shields, resting on a large domed and fluted base, the hinged lid surmounted by a cast figure of Artemis resting on her bow.
Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, the moon and chastity (the goddess Diana is her Roman equivalent). Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo, she was the patron and protector of young girls, and was believed to bring disease upon women and relieve them of it. Artemis was worshiped as one of the primary goddesses of childbirth.
Hallmarked with German pseudo marks (800 standard), Hanau, Maker Schleissner & Sohne (active 1817 - current). The company is considered the main producer of Hanau silver. During the 19th Century Hanau became famous for its silversmith workshops producing excellent copies of antique silver in historical styles.
Johann Daniel Schleissner, son of a goldsmith in Augsburg, moved to Hanau in 1816 and the following year he opened his own company. He produced items in the Augsburg style and sold them internationally, especially in Russia, France and Near East.
At his death his son Daniel Philipp August took over the business. Under Daniel’s leadership the company specialised in decorative pieces in the antique styles and gained a large popularity. He was a traveled man, a painter and a silversmith and he had studied private and public collections. To respond to the growing demand of antique silver of the wealthy German society, he begun copying antique silver objects in the Renaissance, Baroque or Rococo styles and marking them with marks resembling the original ones. To understand if the pieces where really old and the marks original was and still can be, very hard.
What had started as a small family business, soon became a large factory: by 1848 the company was counting 1000 employees. After Daniel Philipp’s death, Schleissner & Sohne continued producing exceptional silverware.
CONDITION
In Great Condition - No Damage.
SIZE
Height: 39cm
Width: 33 x 18cm
Weight: 1325g
