Herrengrund pair of tumblers forming a barrel... Lot 39

Herrengrund pair of tumblers forming a barrel Gilt copper, embossed and engraved in the manner of a snake skin. Inscribed on the reverse of each piece: on one "In Herren grundt das prünlein ist/so Eisen zu ein Kupfer frist". And on the other "An mir sieht man ein Wunder ding, vor Eisen war, jetzt Kupfer bin". "In me one sees a miraculous thing, before iron now I am copper". Slovakia, Herrengrund, Špania Dolina, 17th, 18th century. Height 10 cm. Diam. 7,5 cm. This object is a souvenir of "Herrengrund", a region that today corresponds to the north of present-day Hungary and part of Slovakia. There, the water, rich in copper sulphate, was considered miraculous, both for its medicinal virtues and for its presumed ability to change iron into copper. Our cups are a poetic reminder of these supernatural powers. Bibliography : European Sculpture and Works of Art. sale catalogue, Sotheby's, London, July 5, 1990, no. 221. Judit H. Kolba. Hungarian Silver: The Nicolas M. Salgo Collection. London, 1996, p. 136, no. 114.