Notebook thumbnail 1
Notebook thumbnail 2
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Notebook

1780-1785 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Johann Christian Neuber was the most innovative and talented goldsmith at the Dresden court of Frederick Augustus III, Elector of Saxony (1750–1827). He perfected the technique called zellenmosaik (or cell mosaic, hardstone mosaics set in gold) for boxes and other luxury objects. His celebrated creations proudly display native stones and were used as diplomatic demonstrations of Saxon wealth.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Book
  • Pencil
  • Notebook Cover
Materials and techniques
Hardstones, chased and reeded gold, miniature on ivory, silk and paper
Brief description
Hardstones, chased and reeded gold, Dresden, about 1780-85, by Johann Christian Neuber, later set contemporary miniatures on ivory, later silk and paper notebook
Physical description
A gold rectangular notebook, each side with hardstone lozenges set within goldwork (zellenmosaik), later added with two oval, gold framed miniatures: Marie-Antoinette on one side, Louis XVI on the other, both circa 1780. It closes with a gold pencil placed through loops to the right-hand side, the inside has a later red silk lining and contains a later red silk paper notebook.
Dimensions
  • Length: 11.7cm
  • Width: 8.5cm
  • Depth: 1.35cm
  • Height: 118mm
  • Width: 85mm
  • Depth: 15mm
  • Weight: 200g
Marks and inscriptions
Dutch tax mark, after 1831 (On mounts)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
An astute businessman, Neuber employed a few techniques to enhance the materials he used, so that none of his creations were identical. One trick he often used was to intensify the stones’ natural colours, as seen here in the green stone panels on the notebook where a coloured cement is applied to transparent agates.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Johann Christian Neuber was the most innovative and talented goldsmith at the Dresden court of Frederick Augustus III, Elector of Saxony (1750–1827). He perfected the technique called zellenmosaik (or cell mosaic, hardstone mosaics set in gold) for boxes and other luxury objects. His celebrated creations proudly display native stones and were used as diplomatic demonstrations of Saxon wealth.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Bibliographic references
  • Massinelli, Anna Maria with contributions by Jeanette Hanisee Gabriel. Hardstones: The Gilbert Collection. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000, 329 p., ill. Cat. no. 86, p. 200. ISBN 0856675105.
  • Coffin, Sarah and Bodo Hofstetter. Portrait Miniatures in Enamel. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with the Gilbert Collection, 2000. 168 p., ill. Cat. no. 87, pp. 135-136. ISBN 0856675334.
  • Koeppe, Wolfram and Annamaria Giusti.with contributions by Cristina Acidini ... [et al.] ; edited by Wolfram Koeppe. Art of the Royal Court : Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe. New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art ; New Haven ; London : Yale University Press, c2008. Pp. 265-6, cat. no. 92.
  • Wheeler, Daniel, ed. with introduction by Alexis Gregory. Princely Taste: Treasures from Great Private Collections. Exhibition catalogue, Jerusalem: Israel Museum, vol. 369, 1995, p. 75.
  • Williams, Elizabeth A. The Gilbert Collection at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), 2010, fig. 32, p. 62. ISBN 9780875872100
  • Kugel, Alexis. Gold, Jasper and Carnelian: Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court. London: Paul Holberton Publishing, 2012, fig. 199, p.371.
  • Neuber's leading speciality had been the Steinkabinetts-Tabatiere, a snuff box inlaid with as many as 140 different Saxon polished hardstone specimens, numbered to correspond with an often-concealed explanatory booklet, one being in the permanent collections of the V&A: http://web.archive.org/web/20230117154145/http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O113565/box-neuber-johann-christian/
  • Neuber's leading speciality had been the Steinkabinetts-Tabatiere, a snuff box inlaid with as many as 140 different Saxon polished hardstone specimens, numbered to correspond with an often-concealed explanatory booklet: http://web.archive.org/web/20230117154240/http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O157805/bonbonniere-neuber-johann-christian/
  • Neuber designed a countless number of snuff boxes, each similar yet totally distinct, sometimes centred with an ivory portrait miniature, a Meissen porcelain plaque, or a Roman Micromosaic, the newest and fashionable contemporary invention: http://web.archive.org/web/20230117154240/http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O157805/bonbonniere-neuber-johann-christian/
Other numbers
  • MM 218 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • L.2010.9.3a-c - LACMA Loan Number 2010
  • MIN 73 - Arthur Gilbert Number
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.351:3-2008

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Record createdSeptember 1, 2008
Record URL
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