Baroque Transylvanian rosette clasp. Silver,... Lot 29

Baroque Transylvanian rosette clasp. Silver, chased, gilded. Round massive hump clasp consisting of two stepped chased concentric rings with finely chased floral border borders and lavish applied relief decoration. Symmetrically divided by 12 stylized fleur-de-lys as well as by spiral-shaped sea snail motifs and acanthus foliage. Richly decorated with 29 colored stones and 18 pinned natural river pearls. The fleur-de-lys motifs decorated with one table-cut garnet, emerald or rock crystal each in a tall screw-on box setting. Alternating with green enamelled leaf rosettes, each accentuated by a pearl in the centre. The centre of the rosette set with an octagonal cameo of black glass paste (pâte de verre) with a profile portrait of a man facing left, framed by a wreath of pearls and garnet and turquoise sabochons set in ribbon. Hook-and-eye clasp attached to the back, the hinged tongue-shaped spike with applied cord wire. Stamped twice on the spike: MZ "PK" by Paulus Kirtscher, goldsmith from Hermannstadt (Nagyszeben), Hungary, 1596, died 1609. Only remnants of the green enamel remain. Diameter 11,1 cm. Weight 340,0 g. Sibiu (Nagyszeben), Hungary, Paulus Kirtscher, circa 1600. This splendid and well-preserved breast rosette made of vermeil is a typical example of Hungarian goldsmith's art from around 1600. The so-called "Heftel" or "Brustheftel" belonged to the representative festive jewellery of the Transylvanian patrician. This jewellery had a long tradition: from the Middle Ages to the Baroque period it served as a pectoral clasp of the woman's coat. Since the 18th century, these rosettes were made of gold filigree, were therefore much lighter and were worn as corsage brooches to the popular festive costume. Exhibitions "Vers Désir," TREMA Musée des Arts ancien du Namurois, October 2020. Literature For the master mark see Elemér, Marks of the Goldsmiths of Hungary from the Middle Ages to 1867, 1936, p. 243, no. 1359. Cf. Fodor, Baroque Splendor, The Art of the Hungarian Goldsmith, 1994, p. 162, no. 120; p. 163 no. 121; p. 166 no. 132. Three stylistically very similar rosette clasps illustrated here, all in the collection of the Magyar Menzeti Museum in Budapest. Two of these clasps also illustrated in the exhibition catalogue "Treasures of the Hungarian Baroque", Deutsches Goldschmiedehaus Hanau 1991, no 151 and 152, the second one adorns the cover of the catalogue. A Sibiu rosette brooch by the goldsmith M.O. John II Süßmilch sold at auction at Christie's New York, 17 May 2011, lot 112.