Casket
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Amber casket composed of 3 tiers, all permanently joined together: the lowest tier has a base layer with 3 drawers and a lidded box above; the upper 2 are lidded boxes. The boxes have hinges and string between lid and base; they reduce in size. The whole rests on 16 amber feet.
The 3 drawers in the bottom layer open to the front and have centrally placed locks (locked and keys missing). In between the drawers are pilasters with architectural mouldings and two mythological figures, including Venus and Cupid, made of flat amber laid over bone amber or ivory. Similar figures also appear on the sides. This layer has a wooden core.
The next layer, the largest box with internal brass supports, has sides made of transparent amber carved in relief with soldiers and horse battle scenes on front and back (including a man with a turban on the reverse) and fruit and flowers on the sides. The front and back panels are framed with architectural arches made of opaque amber. On the front and back, four ivory soldiers, carved in the round, flank the central arch. There is a brass lock with key above the front panel centre set in a band incised with daisy and pink motifs. Four opaque amber mermaids and mermen, carved in the round, surmount the corners. A raised section in the the lid, forming part of the base for the next layer, is carved with a hunting scene on the exterior of the box. The interior of the lid has a central ivory relief of two jousting knights on horseback, backed by possibly horn, surrounded by amber panels incised with floral decoration, leaf scrolls and grotesques. The base of the box has an oval scene of Diana being spied by Actaeon who changes into a stag, carved in opaque amber or ivory. This is surrounded by four small rectangles with mythological scenes made of bone amber or ivory set behind transparent amber. The insides of all the boxes have alternating panels of different colours of amber.
The middle box, also with internal brass supports, has panels of transparent amber carved in relief with, on the left and right on all four sides, men and women in contemporary dress, set in architectural frames with some bone amber. On the front there is a central panel with a naked woman with a bow and a quiver, perhaps Diana, reclining on a chariot pulled by a stag, with Cupid above; on the back is a Neptune figure in a similar chariot; on the sides there are central panels with a mascaron and strapwork design. There is a lock with a decorative brass surround and key in the front central panel. Four opaque amber animals, including a lion and a horse, carved in the round, surmount the corners. Inside the box, there is relief of Venus disarming Mars, possibly in bone amber, on the base, and an ivory relief of Thisbe stabbing herself after discovering the dead Pyramus, in the lid. The base relief is surrounded by amber panels with incised floral motifs.
The upper, smallest box with internal brass supports, has central panels on front and back each with an ivory soldier carved in relief backed on a dark blue material, possibly coloured glass. There is a lock above thr front panel (key missing). This is flanked by two lozenges containing small circular reliefs of couples kissing, carved in bone amber or ivory, set behind transparent ivory. Similar motifs occur on the back. On the sides are two marine scenes with mermaids and tritons. The hinged lid is surmounted by an amber reclining woman and a deer carved in the round and four animals, one on each corner. Inside the box, there is a pierced ivory relief in the base of Thisbe fleeing from a lionness drinking from a fountain and a bone amber relief, of Diana discovering the pregnant Callisto, in the lid.
Made almost entirely of amber, this intricate three-tiered casket was constructed so that light passes through the sides to reveal complex decoration. Renaissance-style architecture frames a baroque profusion of figures, animals, fruit and flowers. With links to the most skilled amber craftsman working at different times in the 17th century, this casket appears to mark shifts in fashion around 1660.
With three small drawers in the lower part of the base tier, this casket could have housed precious items like jewels, as well as being an amazing spectacle in itself. Each of the three boxes stacked above opens, allowing light to shine through and illuminate carvings inside the lids and bases of each box. The three boxes are permanently joined together, so that the lid of the lower box forms the base of that above. No expense has been spared: it is decorated on every surface with different types of amber, a highly prized material found only in Prussia. The casket is a tour-de-force of the craftsmanship that developed in early 17th-century Königsberg, now Kaliningrad, the home of a lucrative trade in luxury objects designed to be worn or displayed in princely collections showcasing the wonders of nature and art.
The rulers of Prussia, the Electors of Brandenburg, tightly controlled the collection and production of amber. They often gave amber objects as diplomatic gifts to other European rulers to curry favour or cement alliances. A very similar example belonged to the Queen of Sweden Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (1636-1715) (Stockholm, Skattkammaren, inv. nr HGK SS 131).
Most of the Waddesdon casket is held together merely with internal brass supports and screws. It was Georg Schreiber (active c. 1614-1643) who created this innovative technique of securing amber plaques together without a wooden core allowing light to pass through. Other techniques evident on the Waddesdon piece, such as setting ivory plaques on darker material and carving rhomboid-shaped plaques with scenes behind, are also associated with Schreiber's invention but were used throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Schreiber used these techniques to make caskets with decorative plaques framed with architectural features in the Renaissance style (see Alfred Rohde, "Bernstein, ein deutscher werkstoff" (Berlin, 1937), pls 28-9, figs 72-4). Similarities with several caskets attributed to Schreiber indicate that the maker of the Waddesdon casket was familiar with the master's designs. It was probably made by someone who trained in his busy and productive workshop.
The profusion of carving found on the Waddesdon casket is unlike Schreiber's autograph work and is more consistent with that of Jacob Heise (d. 1667). Heise developed the more restrained decoration of his master Schreiber into a rich lexicon that often included sea creatures as found on the lid of the lower box. However, exact comparisons with Heise's known works are lacking, making attribution to him impossible.
A further complication is the appearance of swirling daisy motifs on the lower box. These also appear on plaques intended for the throne of the Holy Roman Emperor made by the Danzig (Gdansk) master Nicolaus Turow in 1676-1677 (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Kunstkammer, inv. nos 3538, 3541, 3544). Turow also used similar flowers on his signature of 1677 (Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, see Rohde, 1937, pp. 43-44, fig. 21). The same motifs appear on candlesticks probably made in mid to late 17th-century Königsberg now in Weimar Castle, Germany (Rohde, 1937, pl. 74, figs 187-88). These patterns were based on decorative prints similar to a series of ten flower designs published by Georg Bang in Nuremberg around 1620 (see C. P. Warncke, "Die ornamentale Groteske in Deutschland 1500-1600", 1979, vol. 2, p. 110, nos 1190, 1196). Such prints were used by more than one workshop over a period of time so they are not reliable dating evidence. However, the popularity of the motif in works made later in the century at least suggests that the Waddesdon casket dates after Schreiber's death in 1643.
Given this evidence, the Waddesdon casket appears to be a transitional piece, made by someone who trained in Königsberg but had an eye on new developments spear-headed by Danzig amber-workers. Danzig increasingly became the centre for amber production in the second half of the 17th century, as the Electors of Brandenburg concentrated their commissions in this city. Although unlike the geometric forms favoured by the Danzig master Michel Redlin (active 1669 - 1688), who produced many multi-tiered caskets from the 1670s on, the base layer and surmounting figure of the Waddesdon casket, as well as the three-tiered arrangement, do have some similarities with his work (see G. Laue, "Bernstein: Kostbarkeiten Europäischer Kunstkammern", Munich, 2006, cat. no. 44).
Reclining on the upper box of the casket, an ivory Diana, ancient goddess of the hunt, relates to contemporary hunting scenes on the outside as well as to the mythological scenes of love, transformation and death that feature inside the boxes. Those of Actaeon changed into a stag and two of the star-crossed lovers Pyramus and Thisbe are based on prints by Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630), an Italian engraver popular with Northern metalworkers (see acc. no. 5098). Another of Callisto relates to Titian's painting from the late 1550s. A further scene of Venus disarming Mars, god of War, taken from a design by Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665), relates to the martial scenes on the outside of the casket. The soldiers on the outside of the lower box indirectly relate to decorative schemes based on a series of eight prints of warriors in classical dress made by Jost Amman (1539-1591) and published by Stefan Herman in 1590. Similar warriors appear on several caskets made throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, attesting to the use of prints to speed up the inevitable design process, absolutely necessary when working with such a fragile and costly material as amber.
Diana and Venus are joined by women in contemporary dress on the outside of the middle box as well as kissing couples on the upper box. Amber craftsmen often depicted allegories of masculine and feminine virtues and it may be these subjects relate to ideal and transgressive gender roles explored through the theme of 'Love conquers all'.
According to family tradition the casket was inherited by Alice de Rothschild as a family heirloom. However, although her father, Anselm, and brother, Ferdinand, both collected a small number of amber pieces, there is no evidence that it once belonged to them. Following Ferdinand's death in 1898, Alice went on to collect a large number of arms and armour for display in the Smoking Room and Bachelors' Wing Corridor at Waddesdon. She may have acquired this piece around the same time for her music room at near-by Eythrope.
Phillippa Plock, 2015
Other exhibition labels
- Amber is fossilised tree resin. The amber for this casket came from the Baltic Sea and it was made in Königsberg, now Kaliningrad, the former capital of Prussia, which was the leading centre for amber carving in the 17th century and the home of a lucrative trade in luxury objects designed to be worn or displayed in princely collections.
- With three small drawers in the base tier, the casket could have housed precious items like jewels, as well as being an amazing spectacle in itself. Each of the three boxes stacked above opens, allowing light to shine through and illuminate carvings inside the lids and bases. No expense has been spared: it is decorated on every surface with different types of amber, and with figures carved in ivory to imitate marble sculpture, showcasing the wonders of nature and art.
Dimensions (mm) / weight (mg)
430 x 404 x 255
Inscriptions
[paper label]
Inscription
[in upper box]
Provenance
- Acquired or possibly inherited as a family heirloom by Alice de Rothschild (b.1847, d.1922); inherited by her great-nephew James de Rothschild (b.1878, d.1957); inherited by his wife Dorothy de Rothschild (b.1895, d.1988); given to Waddesdon (National Trust) in 1971.
Exhibition history
- Waddesdon Manor, Riches of the Earth, 25 March 2015 - 29 October 2017.
Collection
- Waddesdon (National Trust)
- Gift of Dorothy de Rothschild, 1971
Bibliography
- Marjorie Trusted; Catalogue of European Ambers in the Victoria and Albert Museum; London; Victoria and Albert Museum; 1985; pp. 46, 68; as probably Königsberg, early or mid 17th century.
- Irina Polyakova; Magnificent Amber. The Gifts from Rulers, Diplomats and Scientists; Amber Museum Kalingrad; 2020; pp. 68
Subjects
- Work & Occupations/Maritime & Military/Soldier
- Military & War/Battle
- Everyday Life/Gaming & Sport/Hunting
- Mythology/Gods & Goddesses/Diana
- Architecture/Architectural Features
- Mythology/Creatures/Triton (Mermen)
- Mythology/Mortals/Actaeon
- Mythology/Mortals/Pyramus & Thisbe
- Mythology/Gods & Goddesses/Mars
- Mythology/Gods & Goddesses/Venus
- Mythology/Creatures/Nereid or Mermaid