A Menagerie of Silver, the Property of a Gentleman

A large German silver heron table ornament, circa 1900,
by Neresheimer & Söhne, Hanau,



realistically modelled, with finely detailed feathers, the heron, its head sunk upon its chest, and with downwards gaze, with detachable head, height 27.5cm.
£2,000-£3,000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Menagerie of Silver, the Property of a Gentleman.

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Collection

Sotheby’s, Sale 4 June 2008, Lot 280.

Neresheimer & Söhne of Hanau

At the end of the 19th century, the German city of Hanau, located not far from Frankfurt, became famous for its silver industry. With a long tradition as a free trade city, Hanau’s silver industry at this time was prolific, largely specialising in fine copies after the antique, and mostly marked with pseudo marks in the styles of those regions which they were emulating. Exporting worldwide, the most famous firm of Hanau silversmiths was undoubtedly Neresheimer & Söhne.

Founded circa 1890 by August and Ludwig Neresheimer, the company quickly rose in popularity, thanks to the incredible quality of their silver objects. They were soon direct competitors of Schleissner, who are now considered the forefathers of the Hanau silversmiths.


Neresheimer & Söhne exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World’s Colombian Exposition and the 1904 St Louis International Exposition and contemporary reports state: ‘In the silver-goods trade, the imitation of antiquities plays, and has always played, a large part… and it is in this direction that Messrs Neresheimer and Söhne are best known…… everything being copied with a care and minuteness designed to show the beauty of the old German silversmiths’ work”.



Noonans are delighted to offer for sale this enchanting ‘Silver Menagerie’ including fine examples of works by Neresheimer & Söhne.