reserved
Pear-Shaped Tankard with River Landscape
Painted by Wolfgang Rössler, Nuremberg c. 1680–1690
Faience: probably Frankfurt
Pear-shaped body with recessed footring and broad cylindrical neck;
flat handle with slightly concave inner side.
Footring and lid made of pewter, unmarked
Inscribed “WR” (ligature) in purple on the tongue
Height incl. footring: 17.3 cm / Ø at top: 7.1 cm / Total height: 21.2 cm
Provenance
- Collection Neuner, Nürnberg (Vol. I No. 20 p. 54 f.)
- Süddeutsche Fayencen, Dr. Fischer 28.3.2003 Nr. 4
Two rose branches with blossoms shown in profile and from above, accompanied by finely detailed, naturalistic leaves, frame a river landscape. A path leads into the scene along a high riverbank, with a tall tree at its left edge. In the foreground, two travellers are seen by the river. Further back, the water widens and flows around an island with a small chapel. On the opposite bank, beneath tall trees, stands a farmhouse. In the background, clouds gather above a wooded range of hills.
When Gustav Pazaurek published his seminal work on German Hausmaler decoration on faience and porcelain in 1925, the identity behind the ligature “WR” was still unknown. Today, we know it refers to Wolfgang Rössler (1655–1717), who was born in Nuremberg and trained there as a goldsmith. After completing his apprenticeship in 1676, he appears to have gone on the customary journeyman’s travels. By 1681, he is documented as a Hausmaler through a dated faience tankard (Pazaurek 1925, p. 51; Bosch 1984, pp. 296f., no. 231).
Rössler’s earlier decorations, which combine pictorial motifs with floral elements covering much of the surface, appear to predate his later preference for clearly defined oval or round reserves. Bosch was able to identify a number of river landscapes on narrow-necked and pear-shaped tankards to which the present example can be compared (Bosch 1984, p. 305, no. 240; p. 307, nos. 243, 244; p. 308, nos. 245, 246; pp. 310–311, nos. 248–251).
Even during his in-depth research on Nuremberg Hausmaler, Bosch was unable to trace specific graphic sources for these landscapes, suggesting that Rössler may have been their original creator. These “entirely imaginative landscapes – especially notable for their atmospheric perspective and deeply receding backgrounds” rank among Rössler’s most beautiful works (Pazaurek 1925, p. 56). In terms of composition – particularly the large rose painted above the image – and subject matter, the present tankard is most closely related to the signed example in the Gewerbemuseum at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg (inv. no. LGA 597). (Text according to Alfred Ziffer, Neuner Collection, Vol. I, no. 20)
Compare: Coll. Neuner Vol. III no. 73 pp. 164 f; „Zu Tisch” no. 254 p. 60
