Johann Christian Neuber
( 1736 - 1808 )
Neuber was one of the most creative artist-craftsmen patronised by the royal court at Dresden. He was apprenticed to Johann Friedrich Trechaon in 1752, at the age of 17. In 1762 he became master goldsmith and burgher of Dresden, succeeding Heinrich Taddel as director of the Grünes Gewölbe, and before 1775 he was also appointed court jeweller. It was from Taddel, his father-in-law and mentor, that Neuber acquired his knowledge of precious stones and how to work them. Neuber advertised a wide range of objects made from inlaid hardstones including boxes for ladies and gentlemen, cane handles, watch cases, chatelaines, and jewellery such as bracelets and rings. His distinctive style was popular both at court and with the many visitors who flocked to Dresden as it rebuilt itself after the Seven Years’ War. This individual style was eventually counter-productive with a novelty-seeking public and by the end of the 1780s, his over-extended enterprise started to suffer increasingly severe financial problems. These eventually led to Neuber’s retreat from Dresden in 1805 to the house of his son Christian Adolf in Eibenstock where he died on 2 April 1808