A LOUIS XIV SILVER-GILT CUP

Johann Ludwig I Imlin (1763-1720) became a master in 1689. His family originated from the town of Heilbronn in Württemberg. His grandfather held diplomatic posts in Strasbourg and his father was a clerk and commissaire in the town. He married Marie Salomé, the daughter of Daniel Harnister, one of the finest Strasbourg goldsmiths of the time. Following the death of his father-in-law, Johann Ludwig I took over the workshop and developed a renowned career as a distinguished silversmith. The family became one of the greatest dynasties of Strasbourg goldsmiths, working until 1831.
Strasbourg goldsmiths excelled specifically in making cups, beakers and ecuelles, such as the present lot. The form and ‘schlangenhart’ or snakeskin decoration on the body of this lot is characteristic of the German influence on Strasbourg goldsmiths in the late 17th and early 18th centuries (A. Kugel, Vermeilleu ! : L'argent doré de Strasbourg du XVIe au XIXe siècle, Paris, 2014, p. 102).