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Lot Essay
The nine muses were the Greek goddesses of song, dance, and memory, who gave all artists and thinkers the inspiration for creation. Originally three, they are depicted by Hesiod as the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne
Thalia was the protector of comedy; she discovered comedy, geometry, architectural science and agriculture. Ourania was the protector of the celestial objects and stars; as the inventor of astronomy, she was depicted bearing stars, a celestial sphere and a bow compass. Calliope was the superior Muse. She accompanied kings and princes in order to impose justice and serenity but she was also the protector of heroic poems and rhetoric art. She is depicted holding laurels in one hand and the two Homeric poems in the other hand as according to the myth, she gave Homer the inspiration for the Iliad and the Odyssey.
The theme of the nine muses was popularised in Zurich by Christoph Murer (1558-1614), a glass painter, woodcut designer, etcher, book illustrator and writer. Born in Zurich, he also trained in Strasbourg and travelled extensively collaborating on many projects, until his return to Zurich in 1586 where he gained recognition as a painter of stained glass, printmaker, portraitist and playwright. Later, he was employed by Emperor Rudolf II in Prague and the Bishop of Bamberg in southern Germany. He is also known for producing the illustrations for Jacob Micyllus' edition of Ovid's 'The Metamorphoses', published in 1582, which may be the time period in which this work was produced. A related cup is illustrated in E. M. Lösel, Zürcher Goldschmiede Kunst von 13. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert, Zürich, 1983, p. 273 and p. 371, no. 65 and 65a.
Thalia was the protector of comedy; she discovered comedy, geometry, architectural science and agriculture. Ourania was the protector of the celestial objects and stars; as the inventor of astronomy, she was depicted bearing stars, a celestial sphere and a bow compass. Calliope was the superior Muse. She accompanied kings and princes in order to impose justice and serenity but she was also the protector of heroic poems and rhetoric art. She is depicted holding laurels in one hand and the two Homeric poems in the other hand as according to the myth, she gave Homer the inspiration for the Iliad and the Odyssey.
The theme of the nine muses was popularised in Zurich by Christoph Murer (1558-1614), a glass painter, woodcut designer, etcher, book illustrator and writer. Born in Zurich, he also trained in Strasbourg and travelled extensively collaborating on many projects, until his return to Zurich in 1586 where he gained recognition as a painter of stained glass, printmaker, portraitist and playwright. Later, he was employed by Emperor Rudolf II in Prague and the Bishop of Bamberg in southern Germany. He is also known for producing the illustrations for Jacob Micyllus' edition of Ovid's 'The Metamorphoses', published in 1582, which may be the time period in which this work was produced. A related cup is illustrated in E. M. Lösel, Zürcher Goldschmiede Kunst von 13. bis zum 19. Jahrhundert, Zürich, 1983, p. 273 and p. 371, no. 65 and 65a.