Anonymous German artist - photo 1
Anonymous German artist - photo 2
Anonymous German artist - photo 3
Anonymous German artist - photo 4

Anonymous German artist

Lot 18
30.07.2020 00:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 30 000
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 381225
Lot 18 | Anonymous German artist
Estimate value
£ 25 000 – 35 000
SCHEMBART BOOK, in German, illustrated manuscript on paper [Nuremberg, c.1540]

bound with LEOPOLD I, Grant of Arms in favour of Johann Christoph Lempen, in German, Schloss Pressburg, 1688.

A substantial attractively illustrated fragment of a Schembart Book, a pictorial representation of Nuremberg's most celebrated public spectacle. The Schembart Lauf was a carnival parade for Shrove Tuesday that originated in 1349 as a privilege granted by the emperor Charles IV to the butcher's guild of Nuremberg. Sometimes riotous (the dancers would run through the streets in extravagant costumes brandishing lances and bunches of leaves that concealed fireworks), the event was banned in 1539. Books recording the carnival's participants and their different costumes from year to year started to be made almost immediately after the Schembart Lauf was banned in an attempt to get the festival restored.

305 x 205mm, 36 leaves (of 64), 36 full-page illustrations in colour showing masked and costumed figures, some with carnival floats behind them on the rectos with the descriptive text for the year in a german cursive hand on facing versos, a 20th-century checklist of years pasted inside front cover (corner lacking and hole in shield on f.36, small losses from lower edges of two other leaves, some light staining and spotting, 9 leaves with addition of hearts and/or monograms KSR and CS); 8 leaves with grant of nobility and right to bear arms of Johann Christoph Lempen, written in a cursive German hand and authenticated by public notary Iohannes Philippus Leisner and with his engraved impresa and paper seal on final verso, armorial miniature with Lempen's crested coat of arms between the figures of justice and fortitude, beneath a canopy with the imperial arms and against a seascape. 19th-century marbled paper over pasteboard (joint cracking), brown cloth box with leather lettering-piece.

Provenance: (1) Princely House of Liechtenstein: shelfmark inside upper cover and bookplate on f.1v; purchased from H.P. Kraus in 1955. (2) Paul Gourary (d.2007): his ex-libris, sold at Christie's New York, Splendid Ceremonies, The Paul and Marianne Gourary collection of illustrated Fête books, 12 June 2009, lot 312.

Full-page illustrations for the years: 1472, 1475, 1473, 1474, 1476, 1477, 1478, 1479, 1481, 1482, 1484, 1490, 1493, 1495, 1496, 1497, 1498, 1499, 1503, 1504, 1506, 1507, 1508, 1509, 1510, 1511, 1512, 1513, 1514 1515, 1516, 1517, 1520, 1521, 1522 and 1523.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
09.07.2020 – 30.07.2020
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.