Aldobrandini Tazze
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The Aldobrandini Tazze are a set of 12
silver-gilt Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually ...
standing cups in the shallow '' tazza'' shape (plural ''tazze''), sometimes described as bowls or dishes. They are outstanding examples of Renaissance metalwork, described by John Hayward as "the most impressive single monument of Italian and perhaps European goldsmith's work of the 16th century","The Aldobrandini Tazzas", John Hayward, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 112, No. 811 (Oct., 1970), pp. 669–676, Published by: The Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd., Article Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/876472 and by the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
as "one of the most spectacular groups of 16th century silver to survive".Aldobrandini Tazza
Victoria and Albert Museum
Each ''tazza'' comprises a shallow bowl mounted on a high foot and stem. A vertical pedestal rises from the centre of the bowl, topped by a standing figurine of one of the first Roman emperors whose lives are described in ''
The Twelve Caesars ''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The g ...
'' by the Roman author
Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...
. The inside surface of each bowl is chased with four scenes from Suetonius's life of the relevant emperor. The ''tazze'' have a complicated and somewhat uncertain history and
provenance Provenance (from the French ''provenir'', 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art but is now used in similar senses i ...
. At one time they were attributed to
Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...
, but that attribution is no longer considered correct. Later it was considered that they may have been made by artists from the Netherlands, or possibly from
Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...
or
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
in Germany, perhaps working in Italy. More recent scholarship by Julia Siemon indicates they were made in the
southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the A ...
, possibly for a
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
patron, perhaps Archduke
Albert VII of Austria Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...
, towards the end of the 16th century, and then acquired by a member of the Aldobrandini family before 1603. Different bowls have slightly different styles, suggesting that a team of silversmiths was involved. The set was originally owned by the
Aldobrandini family The House of Aldobrandini is an Italian noble family originally from Florence, where in the Middle Ages they held the most important municipal offices. Now the Aldobrandini are resident in Rome, with close ties to the Vatican. History Their ...
and their descendants until at least 1769, and remained together in a single collection until at least 1861. The vessels were originally plain "white" silver, but were
gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...
in the decade after 1861. The group was then dispersed and examples are now held by several different museums and private collectors. In the late 19th century, six of the original bases, with restrained classically-inspired fluting on the foot and stem, were replaced with more flamboyantly decorated 16th century bases, possibly of Spanish origin. Over time, the interchangeable parts of several ''tazze'', most noticeably the bowls and figurines, have been mixed, so a bowl showing scenes from the life of one emperor may now be found in a collection with the figurine of a different emperor. The 12 ''tazze'' were reunited at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in New York City in 2014, at the start of a major research project. This endeavor resulted in an exhibition organized by Siemon,
The Silver Caesars: A Renaissance Mystery
', which was accompanied by
volume of essays by the same title
During the exhibition, which was on view from 12 December 2017 until March 11th, 2018. The exhibition then traveled to
Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, with over 463,000 visitors i ...
in England in 2018, where it was on view from 18 April until 22 July. Videos exploring how th
Nero ''tazza''
an
Vitellius ''tazza''
depict their Suetonian content were created by Siemon and Beard for display in the exhibition, and can be viewed on the Metropolitan Museum's YouTube channel. During the exhibition, the ''tazze'' were displayed in public for the first time since the mid-19th century.


Description

Each ''tazza'' is a bowl or cup, approximately high. The form is based on the
kylix In the pottery of ancient Greece, a kylix ( , ; grc, κύλιξ, pl. κύλικες; also spelled cylix; pl.: kylikes , ) is the most common type of wine-drinking cup. It has a broad, relatively shallow, body raised on a stem from a foot ...
, a broad shallow wine-drinking cup from Ancient Greece, also the source of the word "
chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. Re ...
". Some ''tazze'' could be used for drinking, but they would also be used as serving dishes for small food items, such as delicacies, sweets or fruit. These lavishly decorated vessels were probably intended primarily as a spectacular display of wealth and artistic taste. They were cast in sections that screw together, with seven main parts: a base, comprising a foot and stem; a disc to support the bowl, normally concealed beneath it; the circular dish-like bowl itself; a low pedestal standing above the centre of bowl; and the figurine of a Roman emperor mounted on the pedestal, with separate cape. The inside surface of each shallow bowl is chased, with guilloche decoration around the edge. Chased classical columns separate the space into four panels, each showing a scene taken from the life of the relevant Roman emperor:
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
, Augustus, Tiberius,
Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
,
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
, Nero,
Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...
, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, or Domitian. Several of the bowls are also decorated with the arms of the Italian
Aldobrandini The House of Aldobrandini is an Italian noble family originally from Florence, where in the Middle Ages they held the most important municipal offices. Now the Aldobrandini are resident in Rome, with close ties to the Vatican. History Their ...
family, with a galero or
ecclesiastical hat Ecclesiastical heraldry refers to the use of heraldry within Christianity for dioceses, organisations and Christian clergy. Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people and dioceses. It is ...
with six tassels to either side. These denote ecclesiastical rank in the
hierarchy of the Catholic Church The hierarchy of the Catholic Church consists of its bishops, priests, and deacons. In the ecclesiological sense of the term, "hierarchy" strictly means the "holy ordering" of the Church, the Body of Christ, so to respect the diversity of gif ...
, with six tassels usually indicating a bishop. In many cases, the arms are marked on the underside of the bowl, suggesting the set was not commissioned by the Aldobrandini family but acquired later. The silver ''tazze'' were made in white metal in around 1560–70, and were gilded after 1861. The designer and maker is not known. Differences in style between the chased decoration of the bowls suggests that more than several skilled craftsmen were involved. Elements of the bowl decoration may be derived from the work of Italian artist
Pirro Ligorio Pirro Ligorio ( October 30, 1583) was an Italian architect, painter, antiquarian, and garden designer during the Renaissance period. He worked as the Vatican's Papal Architect under Popes Paul IV and Pius IV, designed the fountains at Villa d’ ...
(1513–1583), and the figurines may be based on work by the Flemish artist Johannes Stradanus (1523–1605) who worked in Italy in the late 16th century. In six cases, the original foot and stem with restrained classically-inspired fluting has been replaced by a contemporaneous but more decorative foot from another source, possibly from a set of 16th-century Spanish
monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sa ...
s or
reliquaries A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fer ...
.


Early history

The early history of the ''tazze'' is not known securely. The 12 ''tazze'' are included in an inventory of Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini dated 1603. It is possible that they were owned by Ippolito Aldobrandini the Elder (1536–1605), who became Pope Clement VIII in 1592. If the six tassels on the family arms accurately indicate a bishop, they suggest he acquired the ''tazze'' before he became a cardinal in 1585. However, the marks may have been added later by other relatives who were also Catholic clergymen. Perhaps more likely, they may have been given to Cardinal Pietro Aldobrandini by Archduke
Albert VII of Austria Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...
: the Aldobrandini family hosted the Archduke during his visit to
Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...
in 1598, when he was released from his office as cardinal by Pope Clement VIII before his marriage by procuration to
Isabella Clara Eugenia Isabella Clara Eugenia ( es, link=no, Isabel Clara Eugenia; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France with ...
,
Infanta of Spain Infante of Spain (f. Infanta; Spanish: ''Infante de España''; f. ''Infanta'') is a royal title normally granted at birth to sons and daughters of reigning and past Spanish monarchs, and to the sons and daughters of the heir to the Crown. Indiv ...
, in parallel to the marriage of her half-brother Philip III of Spain to Archduke Albert's niece Margaret of Austria. It seems that the complete set came into the ownership of Cardinal Ippolito Aldobrandini the Younger (1592–1638), and they were included in an inventory made in 1638, after his death. They were probably inherited through his mother, (1567–1637) from her brothers, the Cardinal-nephews Pietro Aldobrandini (1551–1610) and
Cinzio Aldobrandini Cinzio Aldobrandini (1551 – 1 January 1610) was an Italian cardinal. Name In some documents he is known as Cinzio Personeni Aldobrandini or Cinzio Passeri Aldobrandini because, after settling in Romagna, the family varied its name according to ...
(1571–1621). The ''tazze'' passed to Ippolito the Younger's niece Olimpia Aldobrandini (1623–1682), who was married first to Paolo Borghese (1622–1646) in 1638 and then to
Camillo Pamphilj Camillo Francesco Maria Pamphili (21 February 1622 – 26 July 1666) was an Italian Catholic cardinal and nobleman of the Pamphili family. His name is often spelled with the final ''long i'' orthography; Pamphilj. Early life Pamphili was ...
(1622–1666) in 1647. The ''tazze'' were inherited by her son (1648–1709), and are included in an inventory made in 1710, when they were held in the ''Guardaroba Aldobrandini'' in the Palazzo del Corso. The ''tazze'' are recorded in the ownership of the Borghese branch of the family in 1769. They may have remained in Italy until around 1798, when
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's army occupied Rome.


History from the 19th century

The set of 12 ''tazze'' may have been taken to London by a steward of the
Pamphilj family The House of Pamphili (often with the final ''long i'' orthography, Pamphilj) was one of the papal families deeply entrenched in Catholic Church, Roman and Italian politics of the 16th and 17th centuries. Later, the Pamphili family line merged w ...
in the early 19th century. They were in the possession of the retail silversmith Kensington Lewis (c.1790–1854) in London by 1826. Attributed to
Benvenuto Cellini Benvenuto Cellini (, ; 3 November 150013 February 1571) was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, and author. His best-known extant works include the ''Cellini Salt Cellar'', the sculpture of ''Perseus with the Head of Medusa'', and his autobiography ...
, the set was sold for 1,000 guineas by the London auctioneer George Robins in February 1834. They came into the collection of Charles Scarisbrick (1801–1860) of Scarisbrick Hall in Lancashire. After his death, they were sold again at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
in London in May 1861 for 1,200 guineas, and acquired by the art dealer
Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisio ...
. It seems that they were gilded at some point in the decade after 1861: earlier inventories and descriptions record them as being made of silver; later descriptions record them as
silver-gilt Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually ...
. A set of casts of the 12 emperor figurines was made while the collection was complete. These casts were in a private collection in the UK in the 1970s, and offered for sale at Christie's in 1976 by the estate of the
Arthur Gore, 6th Earl of Arran Arthur Jocelyn Charles Gore, 6th Earl of Arran, (14 September 1868 – 19 December 1958), known as Viscount Sudley from 1884 to 1901, was an Anglo-Irish peer and soldier. Biography Lord Arran was born in Ayot St Peter, Hertfordshire, the onl ...
. Auction of Italian Renaissance silver-gilt ''tazza'' identified as Nero figure and Augustus bowl
Christie's, London, 5 July 2000, Sale 6293, Lot 18
Auction of silver-gilt ''tazza'' with an Italian Renaissance figure of Titus
Christie's, London, 5 July 2000, Sale 6293, Lot 19
The Paris dealer Frédéric Spitzer acquired the ''tazze'', and he may have sold six of them ( Augustus, Tiberius,
Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
,
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
, Nero,
Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...
) to different collectors, with as many as five being acquired by various members of the
Rothschild family The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jewish family originally from Frankfurt that rose to prominence with Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744–1812), a court factor to the German Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel in the Free City of F ...
. The six ''tazze'' that remained in Spitzer's collection (
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus, Domitian) until his death were sold in Paris in 1893. Some of the bowls and emperors had become mismatched, and Spitzer had replaced the simple fluted stem and base described at earlier auctions with more elaborate bases, perhaps assisted by Spitzer's frequent collaborator, the
Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...
goldsmith and art faker
Reinhold Vasters Reinhold Vasters (2 January 1827 – 14 June 1909) was a German goldsmith. When a collection of his designs came to light some 60 years after his death, it became apparent that he had been a prolific art forger. Early and private life Vas ...
. According to Hayward, the replacement feet and stems may have been removed from contemporary 16th-century Spanish
monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic Sa ...
s or
reliquaries A reliquary (also referred to as a ''shrine'', by the French term ''châsse'', and historically including '' phylacteries'') is a container for relics. A portable reliquary may be called a ''fereter'', and a chapel in which it is housed a ''fer ...
and attached to the ''tazze'' by Spitzer to increase their market appeal and price. Five were acquired by the Frankfurt art dealer
Jakob Goldschmidt Jakob Goldschmidt (also Jacob Goldschmidt; born 31 December 1882 in Eldagsen; died 23 September 1955 in New York) was a German-Jewish banker. Career Goldschmidt studied banking from H. Oppenheimer in Hanover. In 1907 he worked at the National ...
, but the Julius Caesar ''tazza'' was sold separately.


Recent scholarship

Research by
Yvonne Hackenbroch Yvonne Alix Hackenbroch (1912–2012), was a British museum curator and historian of jewellery. Early life Yvonne Alix Hackenbroch was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, on 27 April 1912, the second of three daughters of the art dealer Zacharias ...
published in 1950, by John Hayward published in 1970, and by
David Revere McFadden David Revere McFadden was Chief Curator and Vice President for Programs and Collections at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York City from 1997 until his retirement in 2013. Education McFadden did his undergraduate and graduate work at the Univ ...
published in 1976, have helped to clarify the history and provenance of the ''tazze''. McFadden said in 1976 that "several bowls and figures are, at present, unlocated, including the bowl and figure of Tiberius, the Claudius figure and bowl, the Nero bowl, and the figure of Galba". The locations of these items have become known since the 1970s. The complete Claudius ''tazza'' (figure and bowl) is in a private collection, as is the bowl of the Nero ''tazza''; the figure of Galba is in Lisbon, with a bowl identified as part of the Caligula ''tazza''. The location of all known surviving elements became clear when the 12 ''tazze'' were reunited at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
in 2014, and displayed together at an exhibition there from December 2017 to March 2018, reconfigured to show the correct emperor with the correct bowl. They were disassembled to be shipped for exhibition at
Waddesdon Manor Waddesdon Manor is a country house in the village of Waddesdon, in Buckinghamshire, England. Owned by National Trust and managed by the Rothschild Foundation, it is one of the National Trust's most visited properties, with over 463,000 visitors i ...
from April to July 2018, where again they will be shown in their proper configuration. After the exhibition, the intention is to return them to their current owners in their modern, mismatched state, but negotiations are ongoing to reverse the mismatches on a more permanent basis. Only one ''tazza'', of Claudius, remains in its original configuration, with the original fluted base, and the Claudius bowl matched with the Claudius figurine. Five others have the original base, but the bowls and figurines are mismatched (Galba bowl with Caligula figurine, and Caligula bowl with Galba figurine; Augustus bowl with Nero figurine, Nero bowl with Tiberius figurine, Tiberius bowl with Domitian figurine). The Domitian bowl is associated with the Augustus figurine, but has a replica of its original fluted base (the original is lost). Four others (Julius Caesar, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian) have matching bowls and figurines but replaced decorated bases. The Titus bowl is missing both its figurine and its base.


The 12 ''tazze''

*
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
** The Julius Caesar ''tazza'' (bowl and figurine, but with replaced decorated base) is held by the
Museo Lázaro Galdiano Museo may refer to: * Museo, 2018 Mexican drama heist film *Museo (Naples Metro) Museo is a station on line 1 of the Naples Metro. It was opened on 5 April 2001 as the eastern terminus of the section of the line between Vanvitelli and Museo. O ...
, Madrid. It was exhibited as part of the collection assembled by
José Lázaro Galdiano José Lázaro Galdiano (1862–1947) was a Spanish financier, journalist, publisher and art collector, who, by the time of his death, owned one of the largest and most significant art collections in Spain.Cook, 326 He was described in 1940 as "o ...
in New York, and exhibited at the
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (; MNAA), also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, fur ...
(
National Museum of Ancient Art The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (; MNAA), also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, fur ...
) in Lisbon in 1945. * Augustus ** The bowl of the Augustus ''tazza'' (with original fluted base, and associated with the figurine of Nero) was sold at Christie's in 2000 for just over £1m and is now in the collection of
Selim Zilkha Selim Zilkha (born 1927) is an Iraqi-born British entrepreneur, who founded Mothercare, one of the UK's largest retail chains until it was put into administration in 2019. Early life Zilkha was born in 1927 in Baghdad to an Iraqi Jewish family, t ...
. Previously, since at least 1913, it was in the Wernher Collection at Luton Hoo, possibly acquired from the Frankfurt art dealer
Jakob Goldschmidt Jakob Goldschmidt (also Jacob Goldschmidt; born 31 December 1882 in Eldagsen; died 23 September 1955 in New York) was a German-Jewish banker. Career Goldschmidt studied banking from H. Oppenheimer in Hanover. In 1907 he worked at the National ...
.Review
of ''Rennaissance and Baroque: Silver, Mounted Porcelain, and Ruby Glass from the Zilkha Collection'' by Paul Schroder
Augustus tazza
Metropolitan Museum of Art
** The Augustus figurine (associated with the bowl of the Domitian ''tazza'') is now held by the
Minneapolis Institute of Arts The Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) is an arts museum located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Home to more than 90,000 works of art representing 5,000 years of world history, Mia is one of the largest art museums in the United State ...
. Previously (per Hayward 1970) they were in the collection of
Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount Gort Standish Robert Gage Prendergast Vereker, 7th Viscount Gort, (12 February 1888 – 21 May 1975) was an Anglo-Irish peer, connoisseur and collector of fine art, antiques, and objets d'art, whose seat was at Hamsterley Hall, County Durham. He was ap ...
.Augustus figurine and Caligula (sic) bowl
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
* Tiberius ** The bowl of the Tiberius ''tazza'' (with original fluted base, and now associated with the figurine of Domitian) is the
Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...
, London. The ''tazza'' was donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Walter Leo Hildburgh in 1956, after being displayed on loan there since 1937. The bowl was traditionally thought to show Domitian but has recently been re-identified as Tiberius; it is now associated with the figurine of Domitian, but until 1956 with the figurine of Vitellius. The Vitellius figurine was removed in 1956 and transferred as part of a three-way swap: the figurine of Vitellius was sent to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Metropolitan Museum sent its figurine of Otho to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, and the figurine of Domitian from Toronto was sent to the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The attempt to correct the mismatches reunited the Vitellius and Otho bowls in New York and Toronto with the correct figurines, and was intended to reunite Domitian too, but inadvertently created a new mismatch in London.Tiberius tazza
Metropolitan Museum of Art
** The Tiberius figurine (associated with the bowl of the Nero ''tazza'') is held in a private collection, on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Tazza with Emperor Tiberius figure and dish with scenes from the life of Nero
Metropolitan Museum of Art
*
Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
** The bowl of the Caligula ''tazza'' (with original fluted base, and associated with the figurine of Galba) is at the in Lisbon.Highlights of the Museu Medeiros e Almeida
LisbonLux
Medeiros e Almeida House-Museum
/ref>Caligula tazza
Metropolitan Museum of Art
** The Caligula figurine (associated with the bowl of the Galba ''tazza'') is in the
Bruno Schroder Bruno Lionel Schroder (17 January 1933 – 20 February 2019) was a British banker and billionaire and a significant landowner in Scotland. He was a direct descendant of Johann Heinrich Schröder, co-founder of financial institution Schroders, a ...
collection in the United Kingdom. The mismatched ''tazza'' was sold at Christie's, London in June 1960. *
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
** The Claudius ''tazza'' (bowl and figurine, with original fluted base) is held in a private collection, on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. * Nero ** The bowl of the Nero ''tazza'' (with original fluted base, associated with the figurine of Tiberius) is in a private collection, on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Nero tazza
Metropolitan Museum of Art
** The figurine of Nero (associated with the bowl of the Augustus ''tazza'') is now in the collection of
Selim Zilkha Selim Zilkha (born 1927) is an Iraqi-born British entrepreneur, who founded Mothercare, one of the UK's largest retail chains until it was put into administration in 2019. Early life Zilkha was born in 1927 in Baghdad to an Iraqi Jewish family, t ...
(see above). *
Galba Galba (; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was the sixth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 68 to 69. After his adoption by his stepmother, and before becoming emperor, he was known as Livius Ocella Sulpicius Ga ...
** The bowl of the Galba ''tazza'' (with original fluted base, and associated with the figurine of Caligula) is in the
Bruno Schroder Bruno Lionel Schroder (17 January 1933 – 20 February 2019) was a British banker and billionaire and a significant landowner in Scotland. He was a direct descendant of Johann Heinrich Schröder, co-founder of financial institution Schroders, a ...
collection in the United Kingdom (see above).Galba tazza
Metropolitan Museum of Art
** The Galba figurine (associated with the Caligula bowl) is held by the in Lisbon. * Otho ** The Otho ''tazza'' (bowl and figurine, but with replaced decorated base) are held in the Lee Collection at the
Royal Ontario Museum The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) is a museum of art, world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the largest museums in North America and the largest in Canada. It attracts more than one million visitors every year ...
, Toronto, since before 1976. It was previously owned by Viscount Lee of Fareham. (The Otho bowl had been associated with the figurine of Domitian, which sent to Victoria and Albert Museum, London in 1956). * Vitellius ** The Vitellius ''tazza'' (bowl and figurine, but with replaced decorated base) is held by the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York (previously with the figurine of Otho, send to the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto in 1956). It was owned by Dr. Walter Leo Hildburgh, and then
Jules S. Bache Jules Semon Bache (November 9, 1861 – March 24, 1944) was an American banker, art collector and philanthropist. Early life Julius Bache was born to a Jewish family in New York City. His father, Semon Bache é Bach(1826–1891), emigrated ...
, until 1944, and was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art using the Fletcher Fund in 1945. * Vespasian ** The Vespasian ''tazza'' (bowl and figurine, but with replaced decorated base) are in the private Al Thani collection in London. It was exhibited at
Burlington House Burlington House is a building on Piccadilly in Mayfair, London. It was originally a private Neo-Palladian mansion owned by the Earls of Burlington and was expanded in the mid-19th century after being purchased by the British government. Toda ...
in 1901, acquired by
J. Pierpont Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...
, sold at Christie's in New York in October 1982, and then sold again at Sotheby's in New York in February 2013 for $1.4m. * Titus ** The bowl of the Titus ''tazza'' is in the
Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (; MNAA), also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, fur ...
, Lisbon. The complete ''tazza'' was previously owned by Bertram Ashburnham, 4th Earl of Ashburnham, but was sold without the base or the emperor figurine – described as a
rosewater Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. Rose water is also used to flavour ...
dish by Cellini – at the Ashburnham sale at Christie's in March 1914. The bowl was sold again at Christie's in 1935, by William Randolph Hearst from his collection at
St. Donat's Castle St Donat's Castle ( cy, Castell Sain Dunwyd), St Donats, Wales, is a medieval castle in the Vale of Glamorgan, about to the west of Cardiff, and about to the west of Llantwit Major. Positioned on cliffs overlooking the Bristol Channel, th ...
. The original base and figurine are now lost. ** There is a 19th century replica of the bowl of the Titus ''tazza'' (with replaced decorated base, and associated with a copy of the Julius Caesar figurine). It was in the Wernher Collection at Luton Hoo before 1913 and sold at Sotheby in 2000. It is now in a private collection.Titus tazza (replica)
Metropolitan Museum of Art
* Domitian ** The bowl of the Domitian ''tazza'' (with a replica of its original fluted base, and associated with the figurine of Augustus) is held by the Minneapolis Institute of Art.Domitian tazza
Metropolitan Museum of Art
** The Domitian figurine is held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, associated with a bowl (with replaced decorated base) previously thought to be part of the Domitian ''tazza'', but now though to show Tiberius. The figurine was sent to London from Toronto in the 1950s." File:Tazza with the figure of Emperor Vitellius, and bowl depicting scenes from his life MET DP320636.jpg File:Tazza with the figure of Emperor Vitellius, and bowl depicting scenes from his life MET DP324302.jpg File:Tazza with the figure of Emperor Vitellius, and bowl depicting scenes from his life MET DP323987.jpg File:Tazza with the figure of Emperor Vitellius, and bowl depicting scenes from his life MET DP323990.jpg File:Vitellius tazza MET DP327063.jpg


References


External links


Silver Caesars: The Nero tazza
video from the Metropolitan Museum of Art at YouTube, 7 December 2017
Decoding the Silver Caesars: A Conversation with Mary Beard and Julia Siemon, Part One
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 23 January 2018
Decoding the Silver Caesars: A Conversation with Mary Beard and Julia Siemon, Part Two
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 20 February 2018


Further reading


The Silver Caesars: A Renaissance Mystery
Edited by Julia Siemon; essays by Ellenor Alcorn, Mary Beard, Michèle Bimbenet-Privat, Linda Borsch, Federico Carò, Antonella Fabriani Rojas, Wolfram Koeppe, Xavier F. Salomon, Timothy Schroder, Stefanie Walker, Mark T. Wypyski, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2017, , {{Commons category, Aldobrandini Tazze Renaissance sculptures Silver objects Silver sculptures Drinkware Silver-gilt objects Metalwork of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum Collections of the Royal Ontario Museum