Object Description
Suite of six engravings. All close trimmed. Title plate bears the inscription, ‘Joh: Leonhard Wüst inv. sculpt., Jeremias Wolff excudit. Augusta Vindelicor.’ Title plate, 29×22cms. The other plates are of various sizes. Augsburg.
Johann Leonhard Wüst or Wuest (1666-1735) designed this set of table silver specifically for the drinking of coffee. When these six engravings were completed, coffee was still a relatively new and fashionable phenomena in Germany with the first coffeehouses opening in the seaports of Bremen and Hamburg in the late 17th century. It was not until the second half of the following century that coffee became a household drink.
These prints were published by Jeremias Wolff, founder of one of Augsburg’s largest and most renowned publishing houses which specialised in copper engravings. Prints produced by Wolff rarely credit the artist, and the mention of Wüst on this set’s title plate testifies to his reputation as a craftsman.
£4250.00