Celsing Court Tazza and Leather Case

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

Place of OriginPossibly Venice

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

DescriptionEmulating carved rock crystal, the Celsing Court Tazza upon closer inspection reveals the bubbly structure characteristic of early modern glass, particularly cristallo. The hexalobate glass Tazza is mold-blown and probably was produced in the last quarter of the 16th century or first quarter of the 17th. The glass was cut to accentuate the grooves and carve a six-pointed star on the underside of the bowl. The Tazza has also been engraved on four of the lobes, possibly at a later date when it was mounted. The engraving displays four swirling stylized flowers and tendrils of peas and wheat. The four-petal flowers interspersed with stems accord with other examples of engraved rock crystal vessels found in the French royal collection (ex. Musée du Louvre, MV 837). The glass is fitted with a foliate, blackwork enameled gold strap that hugs the body of the glass and is pierced with trefoil, leaf-like shapes. An upturned, scrolling handle in opaque white enamel over gold and three branching scroll forms extend from the center of the strap and reattach at the top of the mount where it is surmounted with a female bust. The mount’s base features an two opaque enamel rings, one black and one white, surmounted with an openwork ring of pastel enamels in a whimsical peapod design in the style of Pierre Delabarre. The Tazza fits neatly into a gold-tooled brown leather and wood case, lined in painted red leather, that separates into two pieces and is fastened closed with metal hooks.

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).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.