About the Artwork
The opalescent, involute shell of the nautilus, a pelagic mollusc native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean, appealed to discerning collectors in Renaissance Europe. These so-called pearl boats, prized for rarity as well as beauty, marked an important addition to a Kunstkammer (treasure room) or Wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities). The magnificent silver gilt mount, crafted by Hans I. Clauss, showcases the full array of the goldsmith’s techniques, including embossing, chasing, and refined etching. The figural motifs—fierce beasts and shaggy “Wild Men” of folk lore and legend—provide a startling contrast. Highly regarded as a master in his native Nuremberg, a city renowned through out Europe as a center for quality metal work, Clauss specialized in mounting exotic treasures. In its balance of sophisticated skill and reference to the primitive, his design presented the shell as a perfect acquisition for a Kunstkammer: a wonder of nature enhanced by art. From Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 89 (2015)
Nautilus Cup with Wild Men
ca. between 1645 and 1651
Hans I Clauss
1596-1671
German
Unknown
Nautilus shell, silver, gold
Overall: 18 × 5 × 7 1/2 inches (45.7 × 12.7 × 19.1 cm)
Silver
European Sculpture and Dec Arts
Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund
2010.16
This work is in the public domain.
Markings
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Provenance
until at least 1931, Simon Erlanger [1879–1958] (Lucerne, Switzerland)
by descent through the Erlanger family
March 17, 2003 sold at auction by (Schuler Auktionen, Zurich, Switzerland) (Galerie Neuse, Bremen, Germany)
2010-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Darr, Alan Phipps, Yao-Fen You, and Megan Reddicks. “Recent Acquisitions (2007–15) of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Detroit Institute of Arts.” The Burlington Magazine 158 (June 2016): 501–512, p. 504 (ill.).
Tebbe, Karin. Nürnberger Goldschmiedekunst 1541–1865. Vol. 1. Nuremberg, 2007, part 1: no. 16., part 2: no. 482 [Miscaptioned “123.17”] (ill.).
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Hans I Clauss, Nautilus Cup with Wild Men, ca. between 1645 and 1651, nautilus shell, silver, gold. Detroit Institute of Arts, Museum Purchase, Ernest and Rosemarie Kanzler Foundation Fund, 2010.16.
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