Item ref: 4280
The Saxon Electoral Library, Dresden. Most probably included among the many state-sanctioned dispersal sales from the SaxonElectoral collections which began in the 19th century and continued following the dissolution of the Saxon monarchy in 1919.
Private Collection, United States
Comprising a large principal plate together with much smaller subsidiary plate forming the base of the design. Intended to face the entire surface of a book cover, this Baroque pattern of pierced and engraved interlaced scrolling tendrils and flowers is reminiscent of the original designs of vine interlace produced by Caspar Meuser (1550-1593), Court Bookbinder to the Electors of Saxony. A fine comparative tooled and gilt example of his work produced in 1578 is in the British Library (Shelf mark C108D29).
The present pattern also recalls quite closely the iron scabbard facing plate of the hunting trousse made for the Elector Johann Georg in 1619, by the Dresden goldsmith Michael Botza (d. 1633): Historisches Museum, Dresden (M262).
The period to which the present plate is ascribed is determined by the inclusion of the respective arms of the Margraviates of both Upper and Lower Lusatia. The formed was acquired by the Saxon Electorate in 1635, through the terms of the Peace of Prague, ending Saxon participation in the Thirty Years’ War. Lower Lusatia was re-acquired by the electorate in the same year.
The present plate carries the arms and their crests of nine Saxon Electoral territories, in addition to the crested arms of the Duchy of Saxony and those of the hereditary Archmarshalship of the Holy Roman Empire. Each of the arms is labelled by the letters which provide a German abbreviation of the title.
Clockwise on the plate the arms are those of: 1. The Duchy of Jülich combined with the County of Marck, 2. The Margraviate of Meissen, 3. The Duchy of Berg, 4. The Palatinate of Thuringia, 5. The Margraviate of Lower Lusatia, 6. The Margraviate of Upper Lusatia, 7. The Palatinate of Saxony, 8. The Duchy of Kleve, 9. The Landgraviate of Thuringia, 10 The Duchy of Saxony. The arms of The Archmarshalship of the Empire are placed at the centre.
The arms are those of the Saxon Electorate, those of the Archmarshallship of the HRE and those of the provinces of the Saxon Electorate.