Footnotes

Another version of this rare model was sold by Sotheby's 28 May 2009, lot 5.

A box of the same shape but with polychrome decoration on the smaller shells and gold edge around the rims is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (C.138&A-1911). This box is inscribed 'C.H.Z. 1771', for 'Churfürstliche Hof Zöhrgaden 1771', indicating that it was at that date held in the confectionery storeroom of items used in the service of the dessert at the Bavarian Electoral Court. It may have been used for sugar, or perhaps for stewed fruit. A number of other shell boxes of this type survive with the inscription and date 1771.

Alfred Ziffer notes that the shape of this box is precisely copied from a Meissen porcelain covered box, modelled by Eberlein in November 1746 and made for Count Brühl's court confectionery (when it was described as 'Confect-Schaale mit Deckel in Gestalt einer Perl-Muschel zur Gräfl. Brühlschen Conditorey gefertiget').

One could argue that the idea of shaping vessels as shells originated earlier, most famously at Meissen in 1737 with Johann Joachim Kaendler's designs for the Swan Service made again for Count Brühl. In preparation for this work, Kändler spent time making careful drawings of shells in the natural history collections of the Royal Palace. The entire service is a tour de force in porcelain modelling, from the low relief decoration of its plates, to the full sculptural glory of its centerpieces. It could be argued that in this service for the first time Kändler truly exploits the sculptural potential of porcelain to its best advantage. The interest in naturalism and organic forms, a fashion that would  come to characterize the Rococo, is seen emerging in the service, and is followed by many other factories not only in Germany but also abroad, such as at the Capodimonte factory in Naples and the Doccia in Sesto Fiorentino near Florence.

Apart from the various historic Royal collections of cabinets of curiosities and naturalia, prints were a big influence in the distribution of knowledge and fascination with shells. There were several well-known and widely distributed publications that inspired the interest in the sculptural potential of shells and their translation into porcelain. The earliest and perhaps most widely known is that of the Jesuit Priest Filippo Bonanni. Bonanni was a shell collector and was the author of the first book devoted solely to seashells, Ricreatione dell'occhio e della mente nell'osservation delle chiocciole [for the delight of the eyes and the mind in observing shells] published in Rome in 1681. It contains more than 450 different specimens. Bonanni went on to experiment with various recipes to recreate the lacquer used on porcelain and furniture. In 1720, Bonanni published his studies in the highly influential Trattato sopra la vernice detta comunemente cinese [Treatise on the Varnish commonly called Chinese].