Johann Melchior Dinglinger (26 December 1664 –6 March 1731) was one of Europe's greatest
goldsmiths, whose major works for the elector of Saxony,
Augustus the Strong
Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as ...
, survived in the
Grünes Gewölbe
The Green Vault (german: Grünes Gewölbe) is a museum located in Dresden, Germany, which contains the largest treasure collection in Europe. The museum was founded in 1723 by Augustus the Strong of Poland and Saxony, and it features a variet ...
(the "Green Vaults"),
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
.
Dinglinger was the last goldsmith to work on the grand scale of
Benvenuto Cellini and
Wenzel Jamnitzer, fewer of whose large-scale works in precious materials have survived, however. His work carries on in a
Mannerist tradition into the "
Age of Rococo".
Biography
Dinglinger was born in
Biberach an der Riß
Biberach an der Riß ( Swabian: ''Bibra''), often referred to as simply Biberach (), is a town in southern Germany. It is the capital of Biberach district, in the Upper Swabia region of the German state (Land) of Baden-Württemberg. It is calle ...
(today in
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...
). He served his apprenticeship in
Ulm, after which he refined his techniques working as a
journeyman in
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 ' ...
,
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 ...
and
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, three traditional centers of luxury arts. He went to Dresden in 1692, where he spent the rest of his career in the service of Augustus, by whom he was appointed court jeweller in 1698. In the workshop he established, he was assisted by his younger brothers, the enameller Georg Friedrich Dinglinger (1666–1720) and Georg Christoph Dinglinger (1668–1728), who specialized in cutting and setting jewels. The sculptor
Balthasar Permoser
Balthasar Permoser (13 August 1651 – 18 February 1732) was among the leading sculptors of his generation, whose evolving working styles spanned the late Baroque and early Rococo.
Permoser was born in Kammer bei Waging, Salzburg, today ...
collaborated as a modeller in Dinglinger's workshops. Dinglinger's sister
Sophie
Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise".
People with the name Born in the Middle Ages
* Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson
* Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...
was also an artist.
Dinglinger married five times and had twenty-three children, of whom eleven survived to maturity. The famous house he erected in Dresden was burned in the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. He died in
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
.
Works
Dinglinger's major works, all for Augustus:
*1697–1701 The ''Golden Coffee Service'', which presents the cups and saucers and sugar bowls on an elaborate pyramidal etagère surmounted by the coffeepot, all in enamelled gold, a ''kabinettstuck'' unique in Europe. Augustus took the recently completed ensemble with him to
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
at Christmas 1701, to dazzle the nobles of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
of which he was the nominal ruler.
*''The Birthday of the Grand Mughal
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
'', now on display in Dresden's Green Vault,
with 137 modelled enamelled and jewel-encrusted figures of men and animals, which Dinglinger commenced without a specific commission, and sold to the delighted Elector for a spectacular 55,485 thaler. The invasion of Saxony by
Charles XII of Sweden made payments difficult and the greater part of the vast sum was owing until 1713.
*1704 ''Dianabad'' (The "Bath of Diana"), in which a
chalcedony bowl in a filigree is supported between the horns of a stag's head.
*1722 ''Obeliscus Augustalis''
*''Altar of Apis'', an unusual example, for its generation, of Egyptianizing taste
*before 1722 ''Pair of agate standing cups'' celebrating the election of Augustus as King of Poland, mounted in gold, enamel, parcel gilt silver, and semi-precious stones
[One is now in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (see ref. Walters) These cups were exhibited when the Grünes Gewölbe were opened to public viewing in 1722.]
References
*E. von Watzdorf, 1962. ''Johann Melchior Dinglinger'' (Berlin)
Johann Melchior Dinglinger on-lineWalters Art Museum: a cup by Dinglinger
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinglinger, Johann Melchior
1664 births
1731 deaths
People from Biberach an der Riss
German artists
German goldsmiths