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Inscription

On back of bowl: immediately below siren on left, town mark for Augsburg; immediately below siren on right, maker's mark for Elias Schweiglin

On back of bowl, 6 engraved coats of arms of Southern German families: top left, Brem or Prem; top right, Lotter; center left, Conrater; center Vogt von Wierant; center right, Walther or wimpheling; bottom center, Peffenhauser.

inside bowl: repunched 1806 town mark for Lemberg

Provenance

Probably a patrician Augsburg family, late 16th century [1]; possibly Elisa Bonaparte [1777-1820], Florence, Italy; given by her to private collection, probably southern Germany; by descent in family to private collection, southern Germany[2]; (sale, Lempertz, Cologne, 19 May 2023, no. 502); (Kunstammer Georg Laue, Munich); purchased 2024 by NGA.

[1] The spoon bowl has the maker's mark of Elias Schweiglen, an Augsburg master goldsmith. The engraved coats of arms of six prominent Augsburg families on the back of the spoon may suggest they had it made as a baptismal gift for a child of high social rank, possibly acting in the role of godparents.

[2] The ownership of the spoon by Elisa Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, and her gift of it to the ancestors of the German private collectors who consigned it to Lempertz, is according to family tradition, as reported by the Kunstkammer Georg Laue. See prospectus in curatorial records.

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