Page - 99 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Volume 1

99Travel—Wenzel Jamnitzer elsewhere in this book, such more or less informal mediation was one of Stra- da’s tasks at court. It is unlikely that such mediation was limited to members of the dynasty: Strada’s house probably functioned as an exclusive, high-class shop for luxury objects—books, prints, works of art, antiquities—catering to the intellectual, artistic and representative requirements of members of the Imperial court and its many visitors. Strada’s acting as a dealer or informal rep- resentative of Jamnitzer’s workshop must have been quite lucrative for both of them, in view of the great importance at court of sumptuous status symbols, including both personal jewellery—such as golden chains and medallions— and the cups, vases and dishes intended to grace a nobleman’s dresser or Kre- denz. The splendour of Strada’s libri di disegni indicate that his designs were intended for patrons, rather than for the artist’s workshops: it is quite conceiv- able that such albums functioned as catalogues from which a patron could select the object(s) he wished Strada to order for him. 2.5.5 Strada as a Designer for Goldsmith’s Work All together, there is sufficient direct and circumstantial evidence to accept a very close collaboration between Jacopo Strada and Wenzel Jamnitzer. Con- necting the data we have I think it is possible to credit Strada with a substantial contribution to the design of at least one preserved object from Jamnitzer’s studio: the so-called Merkelsche Tafelaufsatz preserved in the Rijksmuseum at Amsterdam [Fig. 2.21 and cf. Figs. 2.10–2.11].71 This was made for an unknown patron at exactly the time Strada was asking permission to engage a master or journeyman goldsmith to work on a splendid commission for the Marquis of Marignano. It is inconceivable that Strada and Jamnitzer, near neighbours, and seven years later close collaborators in the project for Archduke Ferdinand, would not have exchanged ideas about these two important commissions—if they were in fact two: the hypothesis that the Merkelsche Tafelaufsatz is in fact the object commissioned by the Marquis cannot be excluded.72 The Visierung 71 Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inc.nr. BK-17040. I am grateful to Dirk Jan Biemond, curator of metals at the Rijksmuseum, for an interesting discussion of the Tafelaufsatz, its Visierung and its possible connections with Jacopo Strada. On the Tafelaufsatz, see Pechstein 1974; Wenzel Jamnitzer 1985, cat. nrs. 15 (pp. 219–221) 299 (pp. 342–342). 72 Though the Tafelaufsatz was bought ready made by the Nuremberg Council, the Coun- cil appears not to have commissioned it—in that case their city’s coat of arms or some other distinguishing feature might have been added. There is a real possibility that Mari- gnano returned to Italy without actually paying for his commission—in which case the Nuremberg Council would have helped an esteemed citizen in financial difficulties, as well as have acquired an extremely prestigious object. A recent scientific examination