FOREWORD
Ever since I carried out my research into Viennese gold- and silversmiths at the turn of
the Century (“Lexikon Wiener Gold- und Silberschmiede 1867- 1922”, Vienna 1976/77),
I have repeatedly dealt with the subject of Viennese silver.
In spite of intensive archive work and the availability of other valuable sources, until re-
cently it seemed to me that the time was not yet ripe for a publication: I had not yet
found a suitable opportunity to study and evaluate a compiete collection of articles.
I thus regard it as a particular stroke of good fortune that I had the opportunity of cata-
loguing a private Viennese collection which represents a particularly important period of
Viennese silver from the end of the 18th Century right up to the third quarter of the 19th
Century. This was precisely the period of time that I had been considering for some time.
From a stylistic point of view, it contains articles of precious metal from the classicistic,
Biedermeier and the beginning of the historicist eras.
Viennese silver has only seldom been the subject of scientific research since the publi
cation of the above-mentioned book in the years 1976/1977. There have always been
two main trends in the treatment of Viennese precious metalwork. On the one hand, the
history of the guilds and corporations has been recorded along with a description of the
hallmarking involved, and on the other various items have been catalogued. The main
proponents of the former field have been Camillo List, Karl Knies and Hanns Jäger-
Sunstenau. As far as exhibitions are concerned, in subsequent years there were none
comparable with the one of 1907. The catalogue of this exhibition was limited to brief de-
scriptions, and was süpplemented by articles in the Viennese magazine Kunst und
Kunsthandwerk” from 1907 onwards, although the illustrations which it contained were
only able to give a dull reflection of the wealth of material which must have been pre-
sented at this exhibiton.
A summary of Viennese silver was provided by an exhibition in Copenhagen (1985). The
catalogue contained a selection of items from collections in Vienna (Austrian Museum of
Applied Art and Federal Collection of Period Furniture) and Copenhagen. The Vienna
Biedermeier exhibition in the year 1987/88 contained Viennese silver from private and
museum collections.
However, to my knowledge a comprehensive catalogue of Viennese silver has not yet
been published. Isolated objects of Viennese origin are contained in various museum
catalogues, but fail to give even a rough impression of the precious metalwork of the
time.
All those of us with a soft spot for Viennese silver should therefore be grateful to the Vi
ennese collector whose treasures have been made available to the public in various ex
hibitions from the autumn of 1988 onwards, starting at the Austrian Tobacco Museum,
Vienna. The peculiarity of this collection lies above all in its consistency: it focuses on
certain groups of objects (snuffboxes, spiee bowls, sugar bowls, sugar castors, supple-
mented by miscellaneous tableware and cutlery). Apart from the undeniable quality of
the objects, this weighting also provides us with a sufficient quantity to be able to pres
ent chronological sequences and make appropriate comparisons of style, shape and
decoration. The picture is rounded out by an insight into technical peculiarities and Pro
ducts manufactured by specific Companies.
My objective is to describe this collection as comprehensively as possible in a catalogue
running to several volumes. The present first volume, which deals with snuffboxes,
therefore examines the aspects mentioned above and also touches on the subject of
hallmarking, which will also be dealt with in a separate publication.
In the course of my research work I have received generous assistance from many dif
ferent sides. I should therefore like to express my gratitude to the people mentioned be-
low and the institutions for which they work:
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