Nuremburg glass cylindrical Beaker, originally part of the collection of the Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild in Vienna. One of the many pieces appropriated by the Nazis during the Second World War, it was eventually returned to the family and sold at Christie’s in London in 1999.
Engraved by Hermann Schwinger (German, 1640-1683), c. 1680, the beaker features four figures emblematic of the Elements: Air, Water, Earth and Fire. The Four Seasons are also depicted.
Nathaniel Mayer von Rothschild (1836-1905) & Albert Anselm von Rothschild (1844-1911)
Nathaniel Mayer headed the Viennese banking house. His interests were much wider than finance. His botanical gardens, the Hohe Warte, were open for enjoyment by the public, and he also built a grand town house on the Theresianumgasse in Vienna, where he displayed his many art treasures. Together with his brother Albert, photography was one of his many interests and he was a leading member of the Vienna Camera Club.
(Salomon) Albert Anselm married his cousin Bettina Caroline (née de Rothschild) (1858-1892) on 22 March 1876 and their main residence was on Vienna's fashionable Heugasse. After Bettina's untimely death, he founded a women's hospital, the 'Bettina Pavilion' in Vienna in her memory. He was an early conservationist, built an observatory, and with his brother amassed a splendid collection of art and objets d'art.
