Key fields ship
The Schlüsselfelder Ship is a ship-shaped centerpiece made of chased and cast, mostly gold-plated silver . It is the most famous Nuremberg goldsmith's work of the late Gothic period . According to the date "1503" on the leather cover of the accompanying case, it was made this year or shortly before.
The Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg received the work of art in 1875 as a loan from the Schlüsselfelderschen Family Foundation (inventory number: HG2146).
description
Formally, the silver ship corresponds to the sailing ship type of the carrack , which was common in both the Netherlands and the Mediterranean in the late 15th century. It measures 79 cm in height and is 43.3 cm wide (height of the sheath: 81.5 cm).
The silver stamp "N" is stamped on the sail of the ship as a hallmark of the Nuremberg silver sample . Some of its parts, especially the figurative miniatures of the sailors, are cast and cold painted.
The corresponding case is made of wood and is covered with black leather on the outside and red velvet on the inside. The edges are covered with red leather.
Creator and Client
The creator of the imposing work of art is unknown. Spectacular, but unproven, it was suspected that this was the last work by Albrecht Dürer the Elder. Ä. , the father of the famous painter Albrecht Dürer , which was completed after his death in 1502 by a master unknown by name. However, around 1500 a number of other capable goldsmiths were also active in Nuremberg.
The client is also unknown, but apparently came from the patrician family Schlüsselfelder, whose enamelled coat of arms is attached to the pennant of the foremast. Heinrich Kohlhaussen suspected that it had originally been ordered by the Nuremberg copper and brass dealer Matthäus Landauer and that it came into Schlüsselfelder's possession through an inheritance. Landauer's sister was the mother of the first known owner, Wilhelm Schlüsselfelder (1483–1549). However, the latest research confirms the mention of a probably identical “silver ship” as early as 1504 in the will of an uncle of the same name, Wilhelm Schlüsselfelder. This Wilhelm Schlüsselfelder d. Ä. was a coal and steel entrepreneur and owned, among other things, mining shares in the Tyrolean Schwaz , may be regarded as correspondingly wealthy and probably commissioned the ship shortly before his death.
Spellings of the name
The traditional spelling is key ship in two words. She interprets the object as a “ship from Schlüsselfeld”. The small town of Schlüsselfeld near Bamberg was only the original place of origin of the Schlüsselfelder family , from which the name of the ship is derived.
The correct spelling would therefore be Schlüsselfelderschiff or, alternatively, Schlüsselfelder-Schiff for the "ship of the [family] Schlüsselfelder". The hyphen spelling is used, for example, in the object database of the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (see web links), but overall it is less common than spelling in two words.
Web links
- Schlüsselfelder-Schiff: Pictures and information Germanisches Nationalmuseum