The Buxtorf cup

Description

In goldsmiths' work of the late Renaissance and Baroque the shell motif was very popular, whether it was a natural shell incorporated into the object, or a free, stylised representation in beaten silver, as in this case. A stand with an oval foot, a richly decorated baluster stem and scrollwork brackets carry a wide, fluted bowl. A Latin inscription at the front explains the history of the cup: it was a gift to the Hebrew scholar, theologian and librarian Johannes Buxtorf the Younger of Basle (1599-1664). It was presented to him in 1638 in thanks for his service to the city library of Zurich; a cast of the library's seal is represented in a cartouche in the curling hinge of the shell. As a precious gift of recognition this bowl reveals the high esteem in which professors from Basle were held in Switzerland.