Johann Christian Neuber (1736-1808), Dresden, around 1780
Tobacco tin, stone mosaic, and mounted in gold.
Large, oval lidded box with elaborate stone mosaic of various Saxon stones, imitating straw braid in the most precise trompe-l'œil manner, considering the stone pattern. The discreet gold mounting is finely ornamentally chiseled, the handle lavishly floral decorated.
This tobacco tin, which creates the illusion of a simple, finely crafted straw tin mounted in gold, beautifully demonstrates the outstanding mastery of the Dresden court jeweler Neuber: Trained as a goldsmith and stone cutter by his future father-in-law Heinrich Taddel in Dresden, Neuber was accepted into the local goldsmiths' guild in 1762, worked for the court from 1767, was responsible for the Dresden Green Vault from 1769, and was appointed court jeweler in 1775.
Width: 8.5 cm, height: 3 cm
Alexis Kugel, “Gold, Jasper and Carnelian. Johann Christian Neuber at the Saxon Court”, London 2012, No. 60, p. 344.
Provenance: 1964 in the Hallstein Collection










