Images(8)

centerpiece

Object NameObelisk

Manufacturer Werner and Mieth Workshop

Made FromGlass, Paint, Ormolu, Wood

Date1800-1810

Place MadeGerman, Berlin

TechniqueCast, painted

SizeOverall H: 69.2 cm, W: 19.6 cm, D: 19.5 cm

Accession Number2013.3.13

Curatorial Area(s)

Early Modern

On ViewEuropean Gallery

Interpretive Notes

Web Text

This obelisk epitomizes the European fascination with Egyptian culture, which reached its zenith following the expedition by the French general (later emperor) Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt in 1798–1801. When the obelisk was made, Berlin was under the control of Bonaparte’s army, and it is possible that the work was commissioned by a client from the French aristocracy.

Physical DescriptionObelisk. White glass, gold paint, wood, ormolu; cast, painted. Four-sided hollow obelisk of gold-painted, white Flussglas on an ormolu stand whose four legs are designed as sphinxes. The sphinxes were made in a special sand-cast technique that is slightly chiseled so as to benefit the contrast between shiny and rough material, there are a few polished spots on the bodies of the sphinxes. The stand rests on top of a stepped base. A piece of wood atop the stand acts as an armature for the hollow glass obelisk.
Provenance

Source Frank C. Möller Fine Arts - 2013-08-13

Former Collection Viebahn-Kunsthandel GMBH