#MARK OF SEBASTIAN HANN THE ELDER SIBIU CIRCA 1697

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A RARE TRANSYLVANIAN PARCEL-GILT SILVER TANKARD MARK OF SEBASTIAN HANN THE ELDER, SIBIU, CIRCA 1697

Cylindrical, the white silver body chased in high relief and engraved with three scenes after engravings by Matthaeus Merian the Elder depicting the Labors of Hercules, Aeneas and Anchises fleeing Troy, and the murder of Servius Tillius, and engraved below each with description of scene, further engraved near upper rim HERCULIS HIS CIRTUS: MONSTROSAE TULLIA ET RARA AENEAE GRATIA, NOMEN HABET, the gilt loop handle formed as a female term figure, gilt hinged cover with finial modeled as a Roman warrior on horseback and opening to reveal a roundel chased with Cimon and Pero as an allegory of the Caritas Romana, inner foot rim engraved So offt mit kühlem Wein die Kanne man wird heben, soll Herr Sebastian in lieb und lobe leben, 1697 (As often as the jug is lifted with cool wine, Sir Sebastian shall live in love and praise, 1697), marked on base rim SH in an oval

Commissioned by Valentin Franck von Franckenstein (1643 - 1697) for his grandson.

11 1/4 in. (28.5 cm.) high. 52 oz. 4 dwt. (1,622 gr.).

Incorporating both high renaissance and baroque styles, Sebastian Hann is considered one of the most important Transylvanian goldsmiths of the baroque period. Hann was trained in Sibiu, where he joined the guild and eventually became the guild master. Approximately one-hundred works have been attributed to Hann, the earliest dating to around 1675. Hann’s works are recognized for their complex compositions and inclusion of historical and mythological themes, many based on the engravings of Albrecht Durer (1471-1528) and Matthaeus Merian (1593-1650). The success of Hann’s dense figural compositions is a result of the perspective he is able to achieve through detailed texturing and chasing. This tankard epitomizes Hann’s mastery of these techniques.

FRANCK VON FRANCKENSTEIN AND THE COMMISSION 

The present tankard and a second tankard, in the collection of the Hungarian Fine Art Museum, were commissioned by Franck von Franckenstein (1643-1697), as a gift for his grandson, shortly before Franckenstein’s death in 1697. Franckenstien was a Saxon count and a political figure in Sibiu. Remembered for his passion for the arts, Franckenstein wrote poetry, studied historiography, and was one of Hann’s greatest patrons. A pair of 1691 altar candlesticks (historically referenced as the ‘Franckenstein candlesticks’) are in the collection of the Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu. A painted alabaster portrait sculpture of Franckenstein was found at a building site in Sibiu in the late 19th century and is now in the collection of the Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest. An engraved portrait of him is in the collection of Austrian National Library.

The commission of the two tankards from Hann was a massive expense, estimated to be nearly one-third of Franckenstein’s total wealth. Given the tremendous importance of the commission and the timing in relation to Franckenstein’s death, it is possible the gift was intended as a plea for care in his final months. More likely however, the commission and subsequent gift, was meant as a token of appreciation for the kind attention bestowed on an elderly grandfather by a devoted grandson.