Gunpowder flask, powder flask or pulverflasche produced in Germany, dated 1623 and belonging to a member of an important noble family.
The flask, with a flat and curved shape, is made of fine walnut wood and masterfully decorated with ivory inlays engraved with very fine details to enhance figures and shapes.
On the front of the flask the goddess "Fortuna" is depicted, the name of an ancient Roman deity, personification of the force that guides and alternates the destinies of men, to whom she distributes happiness, well-being, wealth, or unhappiness and misfortune. She is depicted as a young woman, with her feet on a sphere, a symbol of instability where she supports a sail inflated by the wind, to which the credit or blame for sudden events and changes in state is attributed.
The background and sides of the flask are occupied along the entire perimeter by berries and larger round fruits delimited by a double frame inlaid around its entire perimeter which is also repeated on the back.
On the base there is an ivory plaque, engraved with a figure of a cherub with a musical instrument placed above a noble coat of arms, the date 1623 and the initials H.G., certainly attributable to its noble owner. Finally, on the upper part, an iron element is fixed equipped with a spout with nozzle and dispenser with two perfectly functioning spring locking levers.
The set of masterfully inlaid figures certainly draw inspiration from some drawings by Virgil Solis made in the second half of the 16th century. In fact, these very rare flasks share the inspiration that the master inlayers drew from artists such as Virgil Solis and Jost Amman. Specifically, in fact, the figure can be traced back to 3 drawings by Virgil Solis, namely "Fortune", "Melancolicvs" and "Astrologia". One of the main inspirers of this inlay technique was Caspar Lickinger from Günzberg.
Excellent aesthetic condition.
Reference:
The only other practically identical flask is preserved in the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington - Room 5. It was donated to the Museum by the wife of one of the greatest American art collectors: Alfred Williams Hearn (1862-1903) Ref. W.57 -1923 Transferred to Circulation dept. 2/1/1926 RF26/172.