Silver, partly gilt, German (Munich), 1559-1592, Isaac Melper

Shallow silver dish on three pomegranate feet, the inner bowl of the dish gilded, the central boss separately made in the form of a wattle fence made of wire round a small patch of grass and a stag couchant. The grass and fence are silver, the stag is gilt.

Isaac Melper was the son of a Munich goldsmith, Matheus Melper. Isaac became a master goldsmith in the Munich guild in 1559 and worked successfully at his trade until his death in 1592. Until 1598 his widow continued to receive small commissions. Despite the numerous commissions he received for services of dining plate, ecclesiastical vessels, spoons, candlesticks and cups from clients who included the Dukes of Bavaria, only six pieces bearing his mark survive (Frankenberger (1912), pp. 298 - 300); Somers-Cocks, Catalogue: Primary Galleries / Church Plate Galleries.
The stag in the centre of the bowl may represent the device of the person who commissioned the work. The date and letters pounced on the bowl indicate that in the late-sixteenth-century it had acquired a commemorative purpose for its owners. The nature of the event it came to commemorate, however, is unknown. The joined letters could refer to two different people, in which case the event may have been a marriage in 1597. On the other hand, the arrow which accompanies them recalls the arrow symbols included in marks that identify merchants, so the inscription may refer to a milestone in the owner's professional life.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, the bowl may have been owned by Sir Francis Cook, Bart., of Doughty House, Richmond (died 1901), whose collection of art objects was principally known for the Italian maiolica he purchased in 1870. Cook's son, Wyndham Cook (died 1905) inherited the medieval objects from his father's collection and added some pieces of his own, mainly items of silver plate, and so it is also possible the bowl entered the Cook collection at this stage. Wyndham's collection, housed at his residence in 8, Cadogan Square, London, was detailed in a privately-printed catalogue of 1904. H.P. Mitchell, of the V&A, described the dish (catalogued as no. 269, in vol. I, p. 59) as one of three 'excellent pieces of South German work of the sixteenth century' ( Catalogue, p. 40). Wyndham's collection was sold by his son, Humphrey W. Cook, at Christie's London between 7th and 10th July, 1925, when the Museum acquired the dish for the sum of £115 15s 3d.

Historical significance: This bowl is a beautiful example of a type of drinking vessel popular since the fourteenth century. Although its shape and decoration do not reflect the more fashionable forms of the late sixteenth century, inspired by Classical Roman models, it is a good example of the persistence of gothic styles and decoration throughout the Renaissance period. It is one of only six pieces of silver work to survive with the mark of Isaac Melper.

This shallow bowl represents a type of vessel that dates back as early as the fourteenth century, and which is found all over Europe. Examples, like this one, made of precious metals were a means to commemorate the wealth and status of a family or of an institution, such as a town council. Many were made with less elaborate central bosses, such as enamelled coats of arms, which at once proclaimed ownership and enabled the bowl to be used for the practical purpose of drinking (see Pechstein (1970), no. 52, and Somers-Cocks, Catalogue). The stag surrounded by a fence which is the central boss on this example may represent the device of the person who commissioned the bowl. If so, this suggests the bowl's function was primarily intended to commemorate a particular family and as such was for display or ceremonial use rather than for daily drinking. On the other hand, a stag represented in an enclosed garden also symbolized Christ in paradise (see Pechstein: 1971, no. 20, for a footed Luneberg bowl, around 1505, where the stag and garden have this significance for the owners, the Luneberg town councillors.)

Isaac Melper (fl. 1559 - 1592) was a Munich goldsmith whose clients included members of the Bavarian Court. Despite documentary evidence of numerous commissions, this is only one of six works to survive with his mark. Although made in the second half of the sixteenth century, the form and decoration on this vessel date back to the fourteenth century. Nothing is known about the original owner of this bowl, though the stag in the centre may represent their personal or family device. Alternatively, the imagery may have a religious significance. A stag represented in an enclosed garden symbolized Christ in paradise in the early sixteenth century.

M.204-1925