Carved ivory cup in the form of a shell, by Nikolaus Pfaff (attrib)

An image of Sculpture / Cup or pouring vessel. Possibly made in Prague, by Nikolaus Pfaff (c.1556- before 1612). Previously considered to be by a member of the van Vianen family. In the form of an wide-mouthed shell with one side higher than the other, and its narrow lower end resting on the back of a rabbit crouching on a flat almost circular base. Over the top of the higher side is a narrow grotesque owl mask with curling ear tufts, and long flaps extending over the sides, which creates a mouth-like pouring lip. Below it is a long leaf which extends over shell-like lobes until it meets the back of the rabbit. Below the rim on the opposite side there is a grotesque male mask with a beard in the form of serrated leaf, with on each side two more serrated acanthus leaves overlapping each other. Carved and polished ivory, height, whole, 12.2 cm, width, whole, 9.0 cm, width, base, 4.3 cm, circa 1600-1610. Mannerism.

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Sculpture / Cup or pouring vessel. Possibly made in Prague, by Nikolaus Pfaff (c.1556- before 1612). Previously considered to be by a member of the van Vianen family. In the form of an wide-mouthed shell with one side higher than the other, and its narrow lower end resting on the back of a rabbit crouching on a flat almost circular base. Over the top of the higher side is a narrow grotesque owl mask with curling ear tufts, and long flaps extending over the sides, which creates a mouth-like pouring lip. Below it is a long leaf which extends over shell-like lobes until it meets the back of the rabbit. Below the rim on the opposite side there is a grotesque male mask with a beard in the form of serrated leaf, with on each side two more serrated acanthus leaves overlapping each other. Carved and polished ivory, height, whole, 12.2 cm, width, whole, 9.0 cm, width, base, 4.3 cm, circa 1600-1610. Mannerism.

Image data

Accession Number: M.27-1933
Photograph copyright © The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.
Aperture: f/45.0
Focal length: 120
Camera: Hasselblad H3DII-31
Photographer name: Andrew Norman
Image height: 825 pixels
Image width: 618 pixels
Processed with: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.4 (Windows)
Filesize: 329.08kB
Exposure time: 1/125
ISO Speed: 200
Fnumber: 45/1
Captured: 2013:01:23 10:39:52

Key words

17th Century acanthus carved cup Czech elaborate Fitz_AA grotesque ivory Mannerism Mannerist mask Nikolaus Pfaff rabbits sculpture sea shell shells vessel

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            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025)
            "Carved ivory cup in the form of a shell, by Nikolaus Pfaff (attrib)"
            Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-2083695933 Accessed: 2025-12-15 02:34:56

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            {{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/image/media-2083695933
            |title=Carved ivory cup in the form of a shell, by Nikolaus Pfaff (attrib)
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-15 02:34:56|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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        <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Carved ivory cup in the form of a shell, by Nikolaus Pfaff (attrib)</figcaption>
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