|
|
|
Marine landscapes and ships
|
The marine pictures of the 18 th century are
part of the Conoisseur Collection, a collection of 29 sculptures made out of
ivory. They present an extraordinary technique which was never produced later
on.
Only 100 similar works of sculptures are known in the world. These are found in
the biggest museums in the world such as for example the British Museum, the
Ermitage St. Petersburg, the Victoria Albert Museum, the Kunsthistorisches
Museum in Vienna or the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig, Germany. Due
to the microsize of these objects they are not anymore called miniatures but
micropictures. It is still a mystery how such small objects were produced.
|
 |
The
"Frigate on the High Seas" (Picture 6) is the smallest micropicture
of the frigate (3,1 x 2,1cm). At the left side of the picture, right beside the
waves on the Bristol Glass there can be seen the initials „G.ST.”.
|
|
The
"Maria-Theresa Brooch" (Picture 1) is the most famous micropicture.
This brooch consisting of 3 parts represents river landscapes with boats. This
brooch was made in 1773-1775 by S.H. in Vienna.
Although of its small format the 3 micropictures represent people, trees, sea
landscapes and boats in such a detail. The left part of the Maria Theresien
brooch represents 2 boats, the one which is not bigger than 1 milimetre.
|  |
 |
Another interesting masterwork of the artist is the
"Frigate on the High Seas"
(Picture 7), an oval picture with a boat made out of ivory on a dark blue
Bristol Glass. The surface of the water consits of tiny ivory stripes. Between
the waves there can be found the signature of the sculptor.
|
|
Black glass has been used as the background of the other oval picture(14,5 x
12,0)called "A Seaport View" (Picture 8) by Stephany und J. Dresch. The
harbour wall and a domed building with columns, which is only partly visible,
form the right-hand edge of this ivory picture, while the far distance reveals
the periphery of an oriental city. At the leftside of the picture a frigate can
be seen with sailors which leaves the port. The wounds and the rail situated on
the top of the cabins are very impressing.
|  |
 |
"Harbor View" (Picture 12) was produced in 1790. It is typical of Adolphe
Brodbecks work because of the use of rectangular forms and moreover the use of
dark blue glass for the background and the nacre for the water surface. On the
right side of the picture 6,5 x 5,7cm a KAIMAUER wall can be seen, right beside
a decaying builiding infront of which a sailingboat anchores. In the middle is a
rowboat with two people standing and on the left a landscape with trees,
buildings and other people. In only hundreds of millimeters are represented
wounds of the sailing boat as well as trees and bushes.
|
|
Another micropicture (9,0 x 8,0cm) called
"Frigate on the High Seas"
(Picture 9) shows very exactly the wounds. There are tiny carvings of the cabins
and laterns on the stern behind a dark blue background. This model is a good
example for the repetition of the motifs he used to make. Again between the
waves one can notice the signature „Stephany & Dresch“.
|  |
 |
The
"Castle by the Sea" (Picture 15), a micropicture under glass
(2,4x1,9cm), is the masterpiece of Nikolaus Klammer. This work is very
impressive since it represents such a big amount of images in such a small piece
of work. The smalles figures are measure only 1 millimeter.
|
|
Only a few hundredth of millimeters is the distance between the branches of the
"Coastal Landscape" (Picture 16) produced by Nikolaus Klammer. The
picture which measures 5,5x4,0 cm made out of ivory with a blue background is
dominated by a bay, houses and a fortress similar building. Pictures of coastal
landscapes, in which sailing vessels and goods loaded or unloaded from ships are
seen, were very popular in the 18/19. century due to their association with sea
voyages, adventure and distant shores.
|  |
 |
C. Haager is the creator of the work
"Coastal Landscape" (Picture 20).
The size of the carving is 3,2 x 2,8cm. In the oval microcarving with a dark
background there can be seen a boat with a sail and 3 people. Right of the
picture is represented a decayed antique column builiding and statues on
pedestals, as well as small groups of people, trees and shrubs.
|
|
More information about this collection can be read in the book
Mikrobilder –
Miracles of Sculpture. You can auction these marvelous works
on the 5 th December 2002 (Dr. Nagel in Stuttgart, Germany).
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
