Lot 658 | Nuremberg | IRON AND BRASS MUSEUM COMBINATION TOOL

IRON AND BRASS MUSEUM COMBINATION TOOL.

Nuremberg.
Date: Early 17th c.
Technique: Iron forged, engraved and cut. Brass.
Description: The two-part tool is shaped like a pair of pliers at the top. The solid, rounded gripping
jaws are slightly scalloped at the sides and decorated with two triangular leaf ornaments.
The lower section features a carved groove decor. The wide hinge area features
swirl-shaped screws on a four-pass brass ornament and engraved ornamental decor. The two
legs have a capital-like transition with leaf ornamentation. The multi-edged legs taper
conically with engraved leaf tendrils and end in nail pullers and acorn finials.
Measurement: 31x8x4.5cm.
Mark: On spandrel panels below the capitals of the legs, monogram "D W", etched.

Provenance:
Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia. On loan to the Deutschen Schloss- und Beschlägemuseum Velbert from 2011 to 2025.

Literature:
Exhib. cat.: Preziosen der Handwerkskunst. Ein Raritätenkabinett edler Arbeitsgeräte aus der Sammlung Luigi Nessi, Lugano, Museum der Kulturen Basel, 2002, Basel 2002. A very similar combination tool is described and illustrated on p. 32, no. 1.

This precious tool was probably a masterpiece and was not likely to have been used in everyday workshop practice. It is conceivable that it was part of an art chamber collection. For example, it is known that Elector Augustus of Saxony (1526-1586) and Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony (1585-1656) commissioned similar tools for their tool cabinets. Today, they are part of the collection of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Dresden.