Gold, Jasper, and Carnelian:
Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court
May 30 through August 19, 2012
Saxon Stones
While discussing the great collectors of minerals in Dresden,
the secretary of the chancellery, Jean-Auguste Lehninger,
cited the following in his 1782 Description of the City of
Dresden: "At Neuber's, jeweler of the Court, there are many
rare and beautiful stones, and all kinds of jewelry, especially
a superb collection of snuffboxes made of various stones —
a kind of mosaic — that surprises every connoisseur with
whom Sr Neuber makes a considerable trade."
The great success of Johann Christian Neuber's Steinkabinettabatieres (stone cabinet snuffboxes) and his personal interest
in minerals led him to seek his own source for the stones. In
1775 Friedrich Augustus III awarded him the concession of
a mine near Schlottwitz, south of Dresden, a region famous
for the diversity and superior quality of its rocks.
All the specimens come from the American Museum of
Natural History, New York.
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Jasper
Saxony, Germany
Maybe stone no. 72 in the Breteuil Table |
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Jasper from Frobburg
Saxony, Germany
Probably stone no. 106 in the Breteuil Table |
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Red jasper from Altenberg
Saxony, Germany
Stone no. 27 in the Breteuil Table |
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Amethyst from Schlottwitz
Saxony, Germany
Probably stone no. 94 in the Breteuil Table |
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Agate
Oberstein, Germany |
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Agate
Oberstein, Germany |
The exhibition is co-organized by the Grünes Gewölbe of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Galerie J. Kugel, Paris, and The Frick Collection. Support for the presentation in New York is generously provided by Walter and Vera Eberstadt, Aso O. Tavitian, Margot and Jerry Bogert, and an anonymous donor.
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