Sword Hilt
Possibly by
Johann Michael Maucher
(German, 1645−1701)
Dateca. 1700
MediumIvory
Dimensions6 1/4 × 6 1/8 × 2 1/2 in. (15.9 × 15.6 × 6.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of Alexis Gregory, 2021
Accession number2021.18.01
CommentaryThis hilt is described in an eighteenth-century inventory as an "ivory hunting knife, artistically made." The knife was likely created to be displayed in a Kunstkammer (cabinet of curiosities). The intricately carved scene depicts a hunt, with interlocking horses, dogs, bears, elk, wild boars, rams, antelope, and foxes. Ivory in Europe came primarily from African elephants, as the pale color and workability of their tusks were highly favored.
Augusta Sibylla, Margravine of Baden-Baden née Saxe-Lauenburg (1675–1733); by descent to her line until extinction of the Baden- Baden line in 1771; bequeathed to Empress Maria Theresa (1717–1780); sale of the collections of Augusta Sibylla, Margravine of Baden-Baden, Offenburg, May 8, 1775 (lot 217); Karl Friedrich of Baden-Durlach
(1728–1811), Baden-Baden; by descent to Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden (1826–1907), 1883/91 by descent to his son Grand Duke Friedrich II of Baden (1857–1928) until his abdication in 1918, Baden-Baden; Neues Schloss, Baden-Baden; sale of the collection of the Margraves of Baden, Baden-Baden, Sotheby's, October 5–21, 1995 (lot 306); purchased by Alexis Gregory, New York, 1995; Gift to The Frick Collection, 2021
Not On View
Attributed to André-Louis Gilbert
ca. 1775
French, Probably Nineteenth Century
probably 19th century
