Silver-gilt & enamel
Vienna, circa, 1880
Maker’s mark of Herman Ratzersdorfer
Width:32cm, 12.5in
Hermann Ratzersdorfer (1845-1894) was born in Vienna and established himself has a well-respected silversmith and goldsmith specialising in objects of vertu. His works in silver were usually adorned with embellishment of grisaille or enamelling. His mark was first registered in 1842. In 1851 he exhibited at the London Exhibition. At the Paris Exhibition of 1855 he won a second class medal. Ratzersdorfer regularly exhibited in Vienna, London and Paris. He was presented with a diploma of honour at the 1873 Echibition in Vienna which "critics and public praised the neo-Renaissance creations of the Viennese goldsmiths which were said to light up the gloomy Exhibition Rotunda with their colour and sparkle," according to Roy Strong’s bibliography of the silversmith in The collector's encyclopedia, Victoriana to Art Deco.
