Lot 02

A SIX-ARMED MANNERIST CHANDELIER

This exceptional Mannerist six-arm chandelier continues the artisanal tradition of beautiful Gothic chandeliers that were made in the southern Netherlands and southern Germany in the 15th century. The top bears a Madonna and Child and six arms with angels holding candles. It has also been compared to one of the most famous examples from this period in the Swiss parish church of Stans. The concept of figural decoration, however, already belongs to the late Renaissance examples in Germany. The beautiful rounded elements and the dynamic drapery of the Virgin's mantle are reminiscent of 16th-century South German goldsmithing. The angel's extravagantly modeled wings are here contrasted with more stylized Gothic figures. The decoration of the arms is also reminiscent of the design of a quite extraordinary chandelier by the Nuremberg late Renaissance goldsmith Christoph Jamnitzer from 1610 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, inv. no. 2012.136.728). Provenance. Albert Figdor, Vienna, until 1930 Georg Kronenbitter, until 1968 Kunsthandlung Julius Böhler, 1968 Prof. Dr. Joachim Wetsger, Berlin Sotheby's London, 10 December 2004 private collection, Oslo, Norway Published in the catalog The Collection of Dr. Albert Figdor (1843-1927), Vienna, Erster Band,1930.