A travelling cutlery set made by Johann Bartolomowicz — a goldsmith from Lidzbark Warmiński (Heilsberg)

Abstract

Of old pieces of goldsmithery cutlery has probably survived in largest numbers. Even though it is simple and modestly decorated, it is often an invaluable source of data on goldsmithery, goldsmiths and their marks, as well as old customs. A perfect example of this is the cutlery set (a spoon, a fork and a knife) in a remarkable case, offered for sale by Kunsthandel Helga Matzke. It is a small but important artefact, testifying to the quality of early-modern-era goldsmithery in Royal Prussia. It was crafted by Johann Bartolomowicz, a goldsmith working in Lidzbark Warmiński (Heilsberg) in the years 1694–1710, whose works known up to now were religious paraments. The holders of the cutlery are decorated with coins; best preserved are the coins set in the scoop of the spoon. Those that can be identified include Prussian three-grosz coins issued by Duke Albrecht von Hohenzollern (1541 and 1544), a rare three-grosz coin of Duke Georg Friedrich von Hohenzollern-Ansbach (probably 1590), a King Sigismund III Vasa three-grosz coin emitted in Riga (1590) and a King Sigismund I the Old three-grosz coin emitted in Gdańsk (Danzig) (1540). Using coins to decorate tableware, particularly mugs, became popular in the mid-17th c. among goldsmiths in Brandenburg Prussia, especially in Berlin and Królewiec (Königsberg), and Pomerania, and to a lesser extent also in Royal Prussia. Mugs were often decorated with three-grosz Polish and Prussian coins of the type used by Bartolomowicz; his usage of coins is a creative echo of that practice. Sets similar to the one in question appeared in the mid-16th c., at first they were luxurious wedding presents serving as personal table cutlery or travelling kits. Then their role changed: they became christening gifts and it is in this function, although no longer as popular as in the 19th and 20th c., they have survived until today.