Renaissance Augsburg Silver Wine Beaker 1613-15 With Original Delicate Fire-gilding

Daniel Frey, Augsburg – Baroque Silver Wine Beaker, Original Fire Gilding, Augsburg 1613–1615Daniel Frey (circa 1588–1632) · Augsburg · Augsburg City Mark 1613–1615 · Monogram DF (Seling 2007, no. 1304) · Original Fire Gilding · Height 8.4 cm

A baroque wine beaker in partially fire-gilt silver (parcel-gilt), Augsburg, 1613–1615. Height 8.4 cm. Original fire gilding of remarkable fineness and freshness. Marked with the two mandatory Augsburg hallmarks: city mark (Augsburg Pyr, period 1613–1615) · maker's mark DF (monogram Daniel Frey, Seling 2007, no. 1304). Very good condition considering its age — more than four centuries of life.

The fire gilding (Feuervergoldung) — mercury-amalgam gilding applied hot to silver, forming an irreversible metallurgical bond of incomparable durability and brilliance — is characteristic of Augsburg production in the early 17th century. Unlike modern electrolytic gilding, original fire gilding develops over time a warm, slightly matte patina of a beauty that no modern technique can reproduce. The presence of the original fire gilding intact after more than 400 years is a first-order argument of quality and authenticity.

Augsburg, the capital of German silversmithing from the 16th to the 18th century, introduced as early as 1529 one of the strictest precious metal assay systems in Europe — the Beschau — guaranteeing every piece bearing the Augsburg Pyr an irreproachable quality. The double hallmarking — city Pyr and maker's mark — is the most robust guarantee of authenticity in early European silversmithing.

Daniel Frey (circa 1588 – Augsburg, 1632), a Protestant goldsmith, became a master in Augsburg in 1616 and married his first wife the same year. In 1618 he contracted a second marriage with Euphrosyna Grill, daughter of master goldsmith Balthasar I Grill, placing himself firmly within the network of Augsburg's great goldsmithing families. He died in 1632. His maker's mark DF is documented in Seling, Die Augsburger Gold- und Silberschmiede 1529–1868, 2007, no. 1304.

The creations of Augsburg masters of this period are held in the collections of the Maximilianmuseum in Augsburg, the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum in Munich, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna and the greatest decorative arts museums of Europe.

• Height: 8.4 cm
• Material: silver · original fire gilding
• Hallmarks: Augsburg Pyr 1613–1615 · monogram DF (Daniel Frey, Seling 2007, no. 1304)
• Maker: Daniel Frey (circa 1588 – Augsburg, 1632) · master since 1616
• Place: Augsburg
• Dating: 1613–1615
• Literature: Seling, Helmut, Die Augsburger Gold- und Silberschmiede 1529–1868. Meister, Marken, Werke, Munich, 2007, no. 1304 · Rosenberg, Marc, Der Goldschmiede Merkzeichen, vols. I–IV, Frankfurt, 1922
• Public collections: Maximilianmuseum, Augsburg · Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich · Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
• Condition: very good considering its age

Seen in museums — available to you.

Available for viewing by appointment at our Düsseldorf gallery.

Keywords integrated: Daniel Frey Augsburg, baroque silver wine beaker fire gilding 1613, Augsburg Pyr Beschau, Seling 1304, Feuervergoldung, Maximilianmuseum Augsburg, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum Munich