MARK OF CLAUS SULSSEN II, HAMBURG, 1640-1650

Details

A GERMAN PARCEL-GILT SILVER FLAGON
MARK OF CLAUS SULSSEN II, HAMBURG, 1640-1650
Cylindrical and on domed foot, with scroll handle, bifurcated thumbpiece and waisted high domed cover, the body finely engraved with oval scenes of two male and one female figure, with foliage between, engraved 'I.R.', beneath the base marked under base
9 ½ in. (24 cm.) high
26 oz. 6 dwt. (819 gr.)

Special Notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

Brought to you by

Giles Forster

gforster@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2146

Lot Essay

The flagon is engraved with a figure of a lady and two gentlemen dressed in the style of wealthy of Dutch merchants. E. Schliemann in, Die Goldschmiede Hamburgs, Hamburg, 1985, vol. 3, records a similarly engraved tankard also by Johann Sülssen (p. 34, no. 45.) and others by Peter Helle (p. 121) and Hermann Lambrecht (p. 120).
The models for these figures were taken from copperplate engravings or etchings possibly after Pieter Jansz Quast (1605-1647) a Dutch painter well known for his small social genre paintings, later engraved by Salomon Savery, see F. W. H. Hollstein, Dutch and Flemish Etchings, Engravings, and Woodcuts, ca. 1450-1700, Amsterdam, 1949-2010.

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