Important Winter Sale presents highlights from the silver department
The silver tureen
During the 18th century, the traditional practice of setting the dining table with all dishes served at once (service à la française) was replaced by the new practice of serving dishes in sequence, with fresh tableware presented for each course (service à la russe). This shift led to a greater variety of serving vessels, each designed with a more specific function than before. Fixed elements of the dining table included candlesticks and, in royal and aristocratic households, a central showpiece, often a silver tureen.
The Rococo tureen by Simson Ryberg was made in Stockholm in 1775, likely commissioned for the wedding of Count Claes Erik Sparre af Söfdeborg (1746–1829) and Baroness Mariana Helena Ehrenkrona (1748–1820), which took place the same year at Idingstad in Östergötland. Their estate inventories from 1830 and 1821, respectively, list under “Silver at Thorpa,” “five larger and smaller tureens, 634 lod”. Mariana Helena, who lost her mother early, was extremely wealthy through her maternal grandmother, Mariana von Schwerin (née Burensköld), who died in 1774. Among her inherited silver was a tureen made by Nils Dahl in Linköping, sold at Bukowskis’ spring auction in 2012 (A568, lot 912).
The design of tureens evolved during the century from the earlier so-called kallskålskål (a popular type of bowl during the Baroque era) and reached its peak with the Rococo's elegant design language. The design of the Sparre silver tureen should be compared with a pair of silver tureens by Daniel Lundgren, a goldsmith active in Reval (Tallinn) from 1771 to 1783. One of these belongs to King Gustaf V’s estate foundation (item 434, part of the Royal Collections), while the other was sold at Bukowskis in autumn 2022 (auction 645, lot 160) for SEK 1,150,000. Stylistically, the tureens are very similar.
A later silver tureen by Simson Ryberg from 1782 was sold at Bukowskis in spring 1998 (auction 508, lot 843). By that time, Ryberg had moved away from the Rococo’s elegant design with its softly curving sides, asymmetrical handles, and leaf-patterned pierced foot mounts. Instead, he adopted a stricter Gustavian style in a model created by Pehr Zethelius.
In the 18th century, new beverages such as coffee, tea, and chocolate were introduced to Europe from other continents. These required specialised vessels, and in addition to teapots, items like cream jugs, sugar boxes, and milk pitchers were created in both silver and other materials like faience.
According to the records of the Goldsmiths’ Guild, it became possible to create a teapot or coffee pot as a masterwork when qualifying as a goldsmith. The first known teapot in Sweden was made in 1712. During the Rococo period, Swedish goldsmiths drew much of their inspiration from France, though English, Dutch, and Chinese designs also influenced their creations. The appearance of these objects evolved in line with the artistic tastes of the century.
Only a few Swedish teapots with two spouts are known, and their exact purpose remains unclear. One suggestion is that these teapots were designed with an internal partition to hold tea on one side and water on the other; however, no known silver teapots with such partitions exist. Another theory proposes that the additional spout was intended to aerate the beverage for a better taste. Chinese double-spouted teapots in ceramic or porcelain sometimes feature an internal divider, enabling the serving of different teas from each side. Regardless of their purpose, double-spouted teapots are a highly distinctive design, primarily found in Sweden. The oldest Swedish silver teapot with two spouts was made in Stockholm in 1747 by Gustaf Stafhell the Elder. Other known examples were crafted in Gothenburg and Uddevalla during the 1760s and 1770s.
Bengt Hafrin was born in Gothenburg in 1743, the son of goldsmith Anders Hafrin and Rebecka Schildt. He apprenticed under J.C. Jungmarker and, after completing his journeyman years, created his masterwork in 1770, obtaining his guild membership as a goldsmith the following year. He married twice and worked for a time in Kungälv before returning to Gothenburg, where he passed away in 1803. His is represented in the collection of the Röhsska Museum, and silver objects by him can be found in the Hallwyl Museum and the National Museum in Stockholm.
Christian Precht (1706-79) is usually considered to be the one who introduced the Rococo style to Swedish arts and crafts. The majority of his pattern drawings for gold and silver objects are preserved at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm today, and it shows his great ability as a designer. He apprenticed as a goldsmith with Gustaf Stafhell the elder. in Stockholm but then continued with studies in London, Paris and several German cities before returning home in 1731. Then inspired by some of the great names of the time such as Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier and Thomas Germain. Since he never sought to become a master himself among Stockholm's goldsmith's and thus be entitled to put his own stamp/mark on his creations, his items can often be found with marks of other masters. For example, his collaboration with Anders Liedberg is documented by the Christian Precht researcher Gustaf Munthe, who also includes the gold box in this auction, catalog no. 316, in his large book on Christian Precht.
The only silver item that is certainly executed and signed by Christian Precht himself is this mirror, catalog no. 247, which bears the inscription "C. Precht fecit Stockholm" on the lower edge of the frame. It was likely, as the son of Stockholm's greatest mirror maker Burchardt Precht rather than as a goldsmith himself, that he received the order for this mirror, which was probably made in the 1740s. The profiled molding and corner ornaments are almost of a late Baroque character, but the crest of the mirror with the rocaille-shaped cartouche over crossed flowering twigs is undoubtedly Rococo, and a similar cartouche can also be found on one of his pattern drawings. For Precht's orders to the court he could leave the silver unmarked, for sales to private individuals he probably borrowed someone else's stamp/mark when he not only designed but also manufactured an object. Precht considered himself primarily an artist but he also knew the craft.
A Swedish 18th century gold snuff-box, marks of Anders Liedberg, designer probably Christian Precht
Christian Precht's collaboration with Anders Liedberg is mentioned by researchers such as Gustaf Munthe, who also includes this box, i.e., the current catalogue number, in his book on the great Swedish master of the Rococo, Christian Precht.
