End fitting of pendent of Duke Casimir VI/IX (1557-1605)

The baldric end fitting belongs to a set of silver belts and baldric elements excavated from the crypt of Szczecin Castle Church, from the sarcophagus of Pomeranian Duke Barnim X (XII) (1549-1603) or his brother Casimir VII (IX) (1557-1605). It is one of two fittings of this type, decorated with similar motifs of birds among floral threads. In the shape of an arch in the shape of a donkey's back, the upper part of the ornament is decorated with trefoil leaves inscribed in the arch field. Its centre is formed by the round head of the rivet that attaches the fitting to the thong. The engraved patterns, silver on a black unlacquered background, fill each part of the fitting tightly.

Researchers associate the silver fittings of the belt and baldric with Egidius Blancke, a court goldsmith for the dukes of Szczecin (active from 1581; died 1608), who was active in Szczecin from the 1580s. He was the author of, among others, the spell of Duchess Erdmutha - a crystal bowl set in a gold frame, with a lid topped with a coral branch, and a cup from the shell of a nautilus (both monuments in Grünes Gewölbe’s collection in Dresden). Also, a set of hunting knives in the Dresden collection, made in the 1690s for Duke Johann Friedrich, with fittings decorated with finely engraved decoration, is signed with his initials. The idea of its authorship is supported by notes in the register of Barnim X's expenses (XII), which mention that he made various types of small silver objects for the prince, including those decorated using niello technique.

Monika Frankowska-Makała