Court snakeskin covered cup

David Roll (Master ca 1605–1638/1643)
Augsburg, 1626–1630
Silver, cast, embossed, engraved, punched and fire-gilt
City mark (Seling 0380) and master maker’s mark DR (Seling 1198) three times: on the foot-ring, the rim and the edge of the cover
Height ca 30 cm, lower diameter of rim ca 7.5 cm
Weight ca 368 g

Provenance: France, private collection

This magnificent covered cup of fire-gilt silver is distinguished by high quality workmanship, which is revealed not only in the elaborate decoration and the richly varied design of this superlative piece but also in the exceptionally voluminous and elaborate ‘Schmeck’ – the bouquet of silver flowers that forms the ornamental finial of the cover. Another remarkable feature is the unusual decoration of the wall of the cup, the cover and the foot, where zones of gadrooning alternate in the vertical with snakeskin-work texturing. The master goldsmith responsible for this ornate piece is revealed by his maker’s mark, which appears three times – on the foot-ring, on the rim of the vessel and on the edge of the cover – and consists of the initials ‘DR’, standing for David Roll. Roll became a master goldsmith in Augsburg, where he worked until his death. The snakeskin covered cup can be dated to between 1626 and 1630 on the basis of the Augsburg ‘fir-apple’ (Pyr), or pinecone town mark. Only a handful of works by David Roll are extant in public and private collections. Particularly noteworthy are a tankard in the State Hermitage collections in Saint Petersburg and a covered cup in the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Dresden, which testify to the master goldsmith’s talent.