Casting from life, c. 1560-70

The style rustique. By the middle of the sixteenth century, the desire to imitate nature was supplemented by the goal of recreating natural objects in every detail. Silversmiths, first in Padua and then in Nuremberg, perfected the technique of casting small creatures to reproduce natural forms with a level of realism and detail which even the most talented artisan could not match. Rather than copying or imitating nature, this technique sought to reproduce it or even recreate it, as least as far as its exterior, three-dimensional form was concerned. The greatest master of this technique, known as the style rustique, was the most famous goldsmith of his day, the Nuremberg master Wenzel Jamnitzer (c. 1508-1585), in whose workshop this object was probably created.

Image 1 shows how this technique could be used to reproduce a single creature: a lizard standing on its own base. This lizard acted as a counterweight to the set of scales (Image 2), around the base of which three smaller lizards are entwined to support the vertical stem (Image 3).

The purpose of the counterweight is not immediately apparent, and requires explanation. At the top of the shaft is a ring supporting a dolphin-shaped crossbar. From the curling snout of the dolphin, the beam of a balance is suspended. From the ends of this beam originally hung two little pans: precious objects would have been placed in one of these pans and tiny weights in the other.  The purpose of the counterweight was to keep the slender stem vertical and the dolphin beam horizontal as weights were added to and removed from the scales.  For this purpose, a wire was connected to the loop in the dolphin's tail. This wire was then threaded through the wheel in the shaft (visible in Image 3) and secured to the heavy counterweight, which could be moved closer to or further from the base as required. 

Commentary. Howard Hotson (May 2018)