An important Nuremberg mortar
Golden yellow bronze with natural patina. Cylindrical form with rounded protruding base and flared rim. Zoomorphic handles. With vertical and horizontal hairline cracks to the lower section. H 17.5, D 15.5 cm. Weight 4.2 kg. The pestle presumably original.
Attributed to the Vischer foundry, first half 16th C.
Like the Löffler foundry in Tyrol, the foundry of the Vischer family also produced cannon. The Nuremberg firm remained the largest producer of cast metal products in Germany for almost 100 years, from the mid-15th to at least the mid-16th century. The most famous member of the family was Peter Vischer, who began his career as an apprentice under his father Hermann Vischer in around 1453. He became an independent master in 1489 and is thought to be the first metal caster to produce a contemporary self-portrait. In a niche in the grave of St. Sebald in St. Sebald's church in Nuremberg stands a life-sized self portrait of the artist, testifying both to his high standing as a citizen of Nuremberg and to his status as an artist-craftsman. This mortar fulfils all the quality criteria that would allow it to be attributed to this workshop.
Literature
Cf. Jantzen, Bronzemörser, in: Anzeiger des Germanischen Nationalmuseums, Nuremberg 1968, p. 27 - 34, p. 28 illus. 8.