Johann Christian Neuber must have known a great deal about mineralogy. On these two boxes, you see specimens of all the gemstones of Saxony artistically arranged and displayed. They are called cabinet boxes, and represent a highpoint of the eighteenth century collecting tradition. The oval one, with its delicate stone inlays, is one of the finest examples of craftsmanship in the German neo-classical style.
For several decades in the eighteenth century, Neuber’s name was associated with a particular form of presenting gemstones. He came from a village near Freiberg and was a member of the Dresden Goldsmiths Guild. We know that by 1775 at the latest, he was working as court jeweller in the Saxon capital. Neuber probably learned the technique of stone mosaic from his father-in-law, Heinrich Taddel, but he developed it into a personal style that became associated with his name. He ground little panels of stone until they were paper-thin and then fixed them onto a base of gold. As you see, he laid them out like pieces of a mosaic, separating the individual panels with narrow strips of gold. His cabinet boxes appealed to the contemporary love of luxury, and made Neuber famous well beyond the borders of Saxony. Many of his boxes are now in private collections. In 1786, the Journal of Luxury and Fashion reported on Neuber’s work:
A somewhat older but no less famous invention of this accomplished artist is a kind of snuffbox, known as a cabinet box. It contains samples of all the precious stones found in Saxony. They are tastefully arranged and mounted in gold. The stones are all numbered, no stone is used twice, and there is a small but accessible key, containing their correct names. This mode-bijou combines luxury, good taste and science, making it really interesting for every rich connoisseur.
Neuber was the leading producer of ornaments. His ladies’ and gentlemen’s boxes, presented at the Leipzig Fair, were sold all over the world. For a while, he had his own large workshop in Dresden, from which he traded. He over-reached himself financially, however, and had to give it up.
