Celsing Court Tazza and Leather Case

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Celsing Court Tazza and Leather Case

ArtistMount attributed to Pierre Delabarre French, active c. 1625 - 1654

Place of OriginPossibly Venetian or Ottoman

DateGlass: before 1630; Mount: c. 1630; Case: c. 1700

DimensionsTazza: 2 1/2 × 7 1/2 × 3 5/16 in. (6.3 × 19.1 × 8.4 cm)
Case: 2 3/4 × 8 1/8 × 3 3/4 in. (7 × 20.6 × 9.5 cm)

MediumMold-blown, cut, and engraved glass mount: gold, enamel; case: leather and wood with gold tooling

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

2021.2A-B

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 23

Published ReferencesGeorg Laue and Virginie Splené, Tresor, Treasures for European Kunstkammer, Munich, Kunstkammer Georg Laue, 2017, 166-167, 240-241.

Lafore, Alexandre, "La Tazza Celsing rejoint le Toledo Museum of Art," La Tribune de l'Art, April 22, 2021, repr.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Daniel Alcouffe, Les Gemmes de la Couronne (Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2001), 379-415. See also Letizia Arbeteta Mira, El Tesoro del Delfín. Alhajas de Felipe V Recibidas por Herencia de su Padre Luis, Gran Delfín de Francia (Madrid: Museo del Prado, 2001), 351-352. See also Thomas W. Gaehtgens, Dirk Syndram, Béatrix Saule, eds. Splendeurs de la cour de Saxe, Dresde à Versailles (Paris: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2006) 217, Cat. Nos. 134-135 See also M. Bimbenet-Privat, Les Orfèvres parisiens de la Renaissance (1506-1620) (Paris: Commission des travaux historiques de la Ville de Paris, 1992). See also Kirsten Aschengreen Piacenti and John Boardman, Ancient and Modern Gems and Jewels in the Collection of Her Majesty the Queen (London: Royal Collection Trust, 2008), 58, 62 and 80, nos. 44, 49 and 89. See also Sture Theolin, The Swedish Palace in Istanbul: A Thousand Years of Cooperation Between Turkey and Sweden, Beyoğlu (Istanbul: YKY, 2000), 60-71.Label TextWith ties to the Swedish, Ottoman, and French courts, this sumptuous footed bowl, or tazza, demonstrates the global interconnections and complex material exchanges of the early modern world (1500–1800). The tazza mimics carved rock crystal and has elements of several artistic traditions: the glass suggests a Mediterranean origin—possibly Venice or Constantinople, capital of the Ottoman Empire at the time—while the enameled gold mounts were probably fashioned in a Parisian goldsmith’s workshop. The elite used such vessels for drinking red wine or serving sweetmeats, such as sugared and spiced fruits and other confectionaries, at the end of a banquet. Others were designated for display in courtly treasuries. Possibly acquired as a diplomatic gift, the tazza formed part of the renowned collection of Ottoman art passed down by the descendants of Swedish diplomat Gustaf Celsing the Elder (1679–1743), who followed King Charles XII (1682–1718) into exile in Turkey following defeat against Russia. Remarkably, the tazza retains its custom-made leather case (illustrated).