Balance standard
- Place of origin:
Nuremberg, Germany (possibly, made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
Gilt bronze, cast and chiselled
- Credit Line:
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
Medieval and Renaissance, room 63, case 6
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Goldsmiths used a balance standard to weigh out amounts of silver and gold in the workshop. This one has a stem supporting an arm in the shape of a dragon poised on a central pivot, with holes for supporting weights at one end and a hook for hanging the weighing pan at the other.
The base crawls with snakes, a frog, snail and twisted tree roots, possibly inspired by the innovative techniques of the Nuremberg goldsmith, Wenzel Jamnitzer, who made silver casts of real insects, shells and plants. The baby clutching a skull is perhaps a symbol of the vanity of human life, a much-depicted theme of the period.
Physical description
Gilt bronze with circular base, cast and chiselled with a putto, its hand resting on a skull, the standard composed of three figures with vases between, the figure of a crowned dragon on top with a hook
Place of Origin
Nuremberg, Germany (possibly, made)
Date
1550-1600 (made)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Gilt bronze, cast and chiselled
Marks and inscriptions
Unmarked
Dimensions
Height: 31 cm, Width: 10 cm, Diameter: 7 cm
Object history note
Acquisition RF: 53/3486
Russell Gift (Bought from the Rosenheim Collection)
Exhibitions:
Burlington Arts Club, 1906
Sold Sotheby's May 9 - 11/1923, Lot 400; a similar example in the Cleveland Museum is complete with scales. See Helen S. Foote 'Goldsmiths' scales in gilt bronze' Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. XLI (1954) pp. 26-28
Labels and date
Silver Gallery:
Goldsmiths used a balance standard to weigh out amounts of silver and gold in the workshop. This one has a stem supporting an arm in the shape of a dragon poised on a central pivot, with holes for supporting weights at one end and a hook for hanging the weighing pan at the other. The base crawls with snakes, a frog, snail and twisted tree roots, possibly inspired by the innovative techniques of the Nuremberg goldsmith, Wenzel Jamnitzer, who made casts of insects, shells and plants. The baby clutching a skull is perhaps a symbol of the vanity of human life, a much-depicted theme of the period. [26/11/2002]
Production Note
Possibly inspired by the work of the Jamnitzer workshop in Nuremberg
Subjects depicted
Tree; Dragons; Snake (animal); Snail; Frog (amphibian)
Categories
Metalwork; Science; Tools & Equipment
Collection code
MET
