Turners of the Early Modern Period in Austria

Austria

• King Rudolf I, Rudolph of Habsburg (1218-1291) – In a Baroque poem of praise of 1683, King Rudolf I is mentioned as having "worked (at this art) so that things he turned can still be seen."
• Albert IV, Duke of Austria (1377-1404) – Albert was known to have turned at the lathe.
• Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519) – The lathe of Emperor Maximilian I was presumably made in Sterzing around 1500-18, and is perhaps the oldest existing evidence that nobility turned. As early as 1503, the Emperor had a room in the Hofburg at Innsbruck with a turning lathe.
• Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (1552-1612) – In 1599, Emperor Rudolf II had a turning chamber furnished in the castle in Prague by Georg Wecker, a turner at the Saxon court whose son Hans later became the court turner in Prague. The turner Peter Zick (the elder) was also called to Prague and the Emperor "took advantage of his instruction in artistic turning for a fairly long time" (according to Nuremberg historiogrpher Doppelmayr in 1730). Numerous turned ivory pieces are mentioned in the inventory of Emperor Rudolf's art cabinet, dating from 1607-1611. They include a house pharmacy by his turner Hans Wecker, made in 1610 and still in existence. An inventory of the art cabinet taken in 1621 notes 82 pieces of turned ivory on an upper shelf and 36 ivory vessels on a lower shelf.
• Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (1608-1657) – Both Lorenz Zick, turner at court form 1642 to 1644, and Martin Teuber instructed Emperor Ferdinand III in turning.
• Peter Zick (1571-1629) – The Nuremberg turner Peter Zick had three sons, Peter, Lorenz, and Christoph, who all learned the turning craft. It was principally the work of the Zick family that made Nuremberg one of the three main centers of ivory turning in the region (along with Regensburg and Dresden). Peter was the court turner for Emperor Rudolf II in Prague. He was one of the originators of the turned hollow sphere and was also famous for his ivory drinking vessels. Several examples survive in museums today.
• Lorenz Zick (1594-1666) – Lorenz worked for the Duke in Weimar in 1613 and in Halle as court turner of the Duchy of Magdeburg in 1616. He also instructed Emperor Ferdinand III in turning from 1642 to 1644 in Vienna. His oval, crosswise, twisting, waved and studded ivory goblets were thought to be imitations of the works of goldsmiths. He also turned hollow spheres. Lorenz's outstanding skill is demonstrated in a specialized form of the relief medallion: inscribed plates, the letters on which have been turned on the lathe. This technique was probably developed in the Zick workshop.
• Martin Teuber (Täuber) – Teuber instructed Emperor Ferdinand III in turning. He was in Regensburg around the year 1654. His grandson, Johann Martin, reported in 1740 that his grandfather Martin was one of the first to turn hollow spheres.
• Christoph Martin Teuber – Son of Martin Teuber also learned the craft. One of his pieces is in the collection of the Museum of the City of Regensburg.
• Johann Martin Teuber – The youngest of three generations of turners, Johann Martin Teuber is known to have produced lifelike anatomical models. Presumably, he also practiced onrnamental turning, as he published what was perhaps the first book on turning written by a proficient turner entitled, "Short Instruction in the Art of Turning" (Regensburg, 1730) under the pseudonym Christian Drexelius. He also published an book on turning in 1740, including an illustration of a primitive form of the sliderest. He was known as "the turner with the silver hand" because he blew off his hand loading a gun and the emporor paid to have a silver prothesis made for him.
• Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1640-1705) – Leopold I was known to have turned at the lathe. An elaborate oval covered cup preserved in the Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen is attributed to him.
• Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (1708-1765) – A simply turned ivory box by Franz is preserved at the Museum of Art History in Vienna.
• Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (1679-1729) – An ivory objet d'art with the coat-of-arms of Duke Leopold of Lorraine, from around 1700, survives in a private collection.
• Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (1712-1780) – A rose engine lathe with the coat-of-arms of Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine is currently in a museum collection in Washington, D.C. Another rose engine, made by Joh. A. Schega in Vienna, 1767, was a gift from Prince Charles Alexander to Joachim Chalon, France, in the late 18th century. It is currently privately owned.

Sources for information in this section