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A nautilus shell is harnessed in with silver decoration, attached to an ornate base.

Atop the shell is a small silver human figure sitting on a fish with an open mouth. We see the figure in profile as he looks away from us. The shell’s open section points to the left. Silver strips wrap around the opening and sides to harness the shell to its base. The stem of the base is a curling tail of a serpent with its head resting at the bottom on the ornate wave-swirl base. The shell has a smooth pearlescent surface.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
BR62.29
People
Unidentified Artist
Title
Model for a Nautilus Cup
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
1650-1675
Places
Creation Place: Europe, Germany, South Germany
Culture
German
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/218096

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Nautilus shell and silver, parcel-gilt
Dimensions
9.05 x 4.4 cm (3 9/16 x 1 3/4 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of Charles L. Kuhn
Accession Year
1962
Object Number
BR62.29
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Charles L. Kuhn, German and Netherlandish Sculpture, 1280-1800, the Harvard Collections, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA, 1965), p. 24, cat. no. 60 pp. 107-108, repr. as pl. XLIV

Exhibition History

  • German Sculpture, 1500 - 1960: A New Installation, Busch-Reisinger Museum, Cambridge, 09/05/1984 - 12/31/1984
  • German Sculpture from the Permanent Collection, Busch-Reisinger Museum, Cambridge, 01/21/1986 - 03/10/1986
  • Objects for a Kunstkammer: Early European Collecting, 1550-1700, Harvard University Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum, 12/10/2005 - 11/19/2006
  • 32Q: 2340 Cabinet Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 09/24/2019; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/25/2019 - 03/14/2022

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu