Prékopa Ágnes (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 30. (Budapest, 2016)

Edit DARABOS: Altera Theca continens.A Research Into Historical Leather Cases made for Esterhazy Treasury Items

which first appears in an inventory of around 1685, and which is mentioned together with its case in an inventory of 1696.51 Also decorated with a row of leaves, but gilded - with leafy branches, naturalistic inflorescences, star-shaped tools and fan motifs - all over the surface, is the case for a jewelled canister by Christoph Jordan.52 The label affixed to the case reads Arani pahâr (Gold beaker). The age range of the items associated with the cases in this group varies quite widely, so it is likely that the cases were made later than the items themselves, and if this is indeed true, then they were probably made by a local master (local to Forchtenstein, that is, such as Vienna, Wiener Neustadt, or Eisenstadt).

The second group also contains a large number of cases, which are connected by their own set of similar gold tooled designs; these were also produced for objects of several types, made from various materials. The cases for a few well-known objects, such as that for the Triumph of Bacchus centrepiece, belong in this group.53

This second group has some important foreign analogues, which bear the same gold tooling. In addition to the cases in the collection of the Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden, which I studied at first hand during the course of my research, there arc several more in the Prado, Madrid, and scattered around other collections as well.54 To the best of my present knowledge, there are around 30 such cases altogether, in various museum collections that are related to pieces in this group; in these instances, the original fine metalwork object has also survived. The vast majority of foreign pieces bear identified maker’s marks. The number of cases in Forchtenstein that belong in this group is substantially greater, and these include cases not only in the shape of goblets

or beakers, but also some bigger ones, whose form implies they were made to store home altars, ornamental frames or mirrors. At present, however, there are no actual objects positively associated with these cases. The fact that the tools are identical, and that certain typical combinations of tools can also be identified, proves their association with the same workshop. The set of patterns compiled from the tools on the cases can be sorted into at least ten types of edge decoration, four types of tendril pattern, varieties of budding pomegranate flower, heart shapes and stylised flower stems, as well as numerous other tools. The most common edge decoration consists of radial, star-shaped rosettes within half-lobed lines. In fields divided into friezes, tools are grouped into central and corner decorations made up of inverted tendrils winding left and right.

On a few cases, only the row of radially decorated rosettes can be seen. This subgroup can be found on cases both in Dresden and in Forchtenstein. The Dresden cases were made to hold a large ivory tankard made by Hans Jakob Mair (mounting) and Johann Georg Kern,55 and a covered vessel made of nephrite.56 Among the Forchtenstein cases, this sub-group includes one made for an ivory basin,51 and another similar case in the form of a ewer, whose associated object is now missing. Several of the Esterházy treasury items that can be identified and sorted into this group have the city mark of Augsburg as well as master’s marks from the same place. Objects in foreign collections corroborate the Augsburg connection, for even if not the object as a whole, its metal mounting may turn out to have been made in Augsburg, as is the situation with an ivory-covered canister in Dresden.58 (Table 2)

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