does anyone have the Josephinenhutte book with the blue and white lidded pokal on the front with an eagle stem? I was just wondering what the reference was given to identify the goblet please?
I've seen that it was sold by Sotheby's in 2003 as a Russian piece with the following explanation:
'A large and rare Russian engraved blue-cased goblet and cover circa 1860
MEASUREMENTS
62cm., 24 3/8in.
DESCRIPTION
the funnel bowl finely engraved with the winged figures of Cupid and Psyche seated on a bed, a bow, quiver and lyre to one side, above a formal band of trefoils, against a matt ground, the stem formed as a carved imperial eagle, the domed foot and cover engraved with a meandering foliate branch, below a pointed leaf-capped finial
For a goblet of the same size and of similar inspiration, engraved by the same hand and bearing this distinctive eagle stem, see that sold Sotheby's London, 19th November 1996, lot 53 (£68,000). This example and the present lot are the only goblets of this extraordinary construction to come to light so far.
The design for a large (59cm. high) enamelled armorial glass with white overlay - 'ein Adlerpokal' - which includes a stem with an almost identical carved or moulded eagle, is illustrated by G.Pazaurek, Gläser der Empire- und Biedermeierzeit, p.356, pl.348 (Archiv Waldburg-Zeil). The drawing and enamel decoration on that glass is attributed to a glass enameller called Dohnt (or Dohnat) but the author is unable to provide any further details about the decorator and does not date the drawing.
Of outstanding quality, the monumental appearance might suggest that the present lot was conceived for one of the major international exhibitions of the period. There was some suggestion that the example sold by Sotheby's in 1996 had been chosen as a Czarist gift. There are strong decorative and stylistic links between the work of Franz Zach and that example- especially in the engraved vermicelli matt ground. Zach is regarded as the leading exponent of the art of engraving blue overlay. For signed examples of his work in blue overlay see the smaller goblets sold Sotheby's London, 19th December 2002, lots 40 and 50, and lot 20 for an attributed tazza.'