Kaiser Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth

Carafe with stopper from the ‘Ischl Knot Service’ by purveyor to the court J. & L. Lobmeyr, colourless crystal glass, cut, sides cut with Imperial double eagle, height c. 33 cm, J. & L. Lobmeyr, Vienna, c. 1860, (Lu)

Provenance: Kaiser Franz Joseph I and Empress Elisabeth, Archduchess Marie Valerie and descendants. The lots offered here comprise a complete inventory of the well-known ‘Ischl Knot Service’. The Ischl Knot Service was made for the Imperial court in around 1860 by the purveyors to the Viennese court J. & L. Lobmeyr. The design was executed using top-grade crystal and was intended for the Imperial family’s private use in Bad Ischl. In the catalogue of the former Court Silver and Table Room only a few pieces are mentioned and described, so it was assumed that only a few samples were purchased. Most pieces were privately owned by the family, however, and were therefore not previously known. The Service is cited in the work drawings of the Lobmeyr firm as "böhmisches Muster c. 1857" (Bohemian Pattern c. 1857). The Service has been passed down by inheritance through the Imperial family until today. Literature: Former Court Silver and Table Room, Collection Catalogue Vol. I, Ed. Ilsebill Barta-Fliedl, Peter Parenzan, Vienna 1996, Cat. Nos. 57, 58.

Esperto: Dr. Georg Ludwigstorff