Gotha (dpa/th) – The Friedenstein Castle Foundation in Gotha has reacquired an ivory box from the collection of Duke Augustus of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. The Gotha ivory box got lost in the turmoil of the Second World War and was able to return to the Friedenstein after lengthy negotiations in the year of the Duke’s 250th birthday, as the foundation announced on Wednesday. It was acquired from a German private collection. No information was given about the purchase price.
The delicate, detailed turned and carved box dates from the late 17th or early 18th century and is attributed to the ivory and amber carver Gottfried Wolffram, who worked for the Danish court. According to the information, four of Wolffram’s works are now in Gotha’s possession.
According to the foundation, they belong to a bundle of around 73 ivory works that came to the Friedenstein at the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th century and bear witness to Duke August’s active purchasing policy. “The fact that only 20 works from this bundle have survived made the repurchase of the ivory box for the Friedenstein all the more important,” emphasized Timo Trümper, head of the collection. The box – whose lid is adorned with a medallion showing three soldiers playing dice – can now be seen in the exhibition “Luxury, Art and Fantasy – Duke Augustus of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg as a Collector” in the Ducal Museum.
