# Auricular style

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Style of ornamental decoration

Standing cup by [Johannes Lutma](/source/Johannes_Lutma), 1639

The **auricular style** or **lobate style** (Dutch: *kwabstijl*, German: *Ohrmuschelstil*) is a style of ornamental decoration, mainly found in [Northern Europe](/source/Northern_Europe) in the first half of the 17th century, bridging [Northern Mannerism](/source/Northern_Mannerism) and the [Baroque](/source/Baroque). The style was especially important and effective in [silversmithing](/source/Silversmithing), but was also used in minor architectural ornamentation such as door and window reveals, picture frames, and a wide variety of the [decorative arts](/source/Decorative_arts).[1] It uses softly flowing abstract shapes in [relief](/source/Relief), sometimes asymmetrical, whose resemblance to the side view of the human ear gives it its name, or at least its "undulating, slithery and boneless forms occasionally carry a suggestion of the inside of an ear or a [conch shell](/source/Conch_shell)".[2] It is often associated with stylized marine animal forms, or ambiguous masks and shapes that might be such, which seem to emerge from the rippling, fluid background, as if the silver remained in its molten state.

In some other European languages, the style is covered by the local equivalent of the term [cartilage baroque](/source/Cartilage_baroque) because the forms may resemble [cartilage](/source/Cartilage) (e.g. *Knorpelbarock* in German, *bruskbarokk* in Norwegian, *bruskbarok* in Danish). However, those these terms may be rather widely and vaguely applied to a bewildering range of styles of [Northern Mannerist](/source/Northern_Mannerist) and [Baroque](/source/Baroque) ornament. In Dutch, a "dolphin and mollusk" style is mentioned.[3]

## Metalwork

The [Adam van Vianen Memorial ewer](/source/Memorial_Guild_Cup_(Adam_van_Vianen)) for his brother, 1614, which appears in several paintings.

Although precedents have been traced in the graphic designs of Italian [Mannerist](/source/Mannerist) artists such as [Giulio Romano](/source/Giulio_Romano) and [Enea Vico](/source/Enea_Vico),[4] the auricular style can first be found in 1598 in the important [ornament book](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ornament_book&action=edit&redlink=1) of Northern Mannerism, *Architectura: Von Außtheilung, Symmetria und Proportion der Fünff Seulen ...*, by [Wendel Dietterlin](/source/Wendel_Dietterlin) of [Stuttgart](/source/Stuttgart), in the second edition of 1598. It can be found in the designs of [Hans Vredeman de Vries](/source/Hans_Vredeman_de_Vries) in the Netherlands, and was used most effectively in the hands of the [Utrecht](/source/Utrecht) [silversmiths](/source/Silversmith) [Paul](/source/Paulus_van_Vianen) and [Adam van Vianen](/source/Adam_van_Vianen), and Paul's pupil [Johannes Lutma](/source/Johannes_Lutma), who settled in [Amsterdam](/source/Amsterdam). Another Dutch silversmith who worked in the auricular style was Thomas Bogaert. At mid-century, designs for plate by M. Mosyn were published in Amsterdam.[5] Christian van Vianen, a son of Adam, worked in England at the courts of [Charles I](/source/Charles_I_of_England) and [Charles II](/source/Charles_II_of_England), and took the style there.[6] A [bratina](/source/Bratina) or Russian toasting-cup in the [Walters Art Museum](/source/Walters_Art_Museum) was made in Russia in 1650–70 in an auricular style that was presumably copied from pieces brought in by Dutch traders, perhaps as gifts to ease trade deals.[7]

In metalwork, the style was in harmony with the malleable nature of the material, often giving the impression that the object is beginning to melt. It contrasted strongly with the preceding [Mannerist](/source/Mannerist) style of crowded figurative scenes, as for example in the [Lomellini Ewer and Basin](/source/Lomellini_Ewer_and_Basin) of 1620–21, although some works managed to combine the two styles, as in a [silver-gilt](/source/Silver-gilt) ewer and basin of 1630, made in [Delft](/source/Delft) and now in Utrecht,[8] with auricular elements replacing [strapwork](/source/Strapwork).

[Diana and Actaeon basin](/source/Diana_and_Actaeon_basin), [Paul van Vianen](/source/Paul_van_Vianen), 1613

### Key works

Most of the key works are in the Netherlands, especially the [Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam](/source/Rijksmuseum%2C_Amsterdam), whose collection includes ewer and basin sets by Paul van Vianen (1613, with [Diana and Callisto](/source/Diana_and_Callisto)) and Johannes Lutma (1647). Especially important is a gilded [ewer](/source/Ewer) by [Adam van Vianen](/source/Adam_van_Vianen) (1614).[9]

The [Adam van Vianen ewer](/source/Memorial_Guild_Cup_(Adam_van_Vianen)) is "a strikingly original work that is largely abstract and completely sculptural in its conception", and was commissioned by the [Amsterdam goldsmiths' guild](/source/Amsterdam_goldsmiths'_guild) to commemorate the death of Paul, despite neither brother living in Amsterdam or being a member of the guild.[10] The piece became famous and appears in several [Dutch Golden Age paintings](/source/Dutch_Golden_Age_painting), both [still lifes](/source/Still_life) and [history paintings](/source/History_painting), "no doubt in part because its bizarre form allowed it to pass as an object from an ancient and foreign land", and so useful for [Old Testament](/source/Old_Testament) scenes and the like.[11] According to James Trilling, it "is one of the very few ornamental works that deserve recognition as art-historical turning points. Van Vianen's breakthrough was the introduction of inchoate or indeterminate form, which paved the way for both Rococo and modernist ornament."[12] It was raised by a lengthy process of [chasing](/source/Repouss%C3%A9_and_chasing) from a single sheet of silver, and chasing was the main technique used in auricular silver.[13]

The [Diana and Actaeon bowl](/source/Diana_and_Actaeon_bowl) of 1613 by [Paul van Vianen](/source/Paul_van_Vianen) (Rijksmuseum), shows scenes from the myth of [Diana and Actaeon](/source/Diana_and_Actaeon), with a border in the Auricular style.[14]

The "Dolphin Basin", which presumably once had a matching ewer, is an asymmetric form with watery motifs by Christian van Vianen (1635), now in the [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum) in London.[15]

		- [Christian van Vianen](/source/Christian_van_Vianen), Standing cup, 1640-41, [Waddesdon Manor](/source/Waddesdon_Manor)

		- Dish, by Philippus Lude

		- Russian, drinking cup (Bratina)

		- Print after silver jug by Adam or Christian van Vianen

		- Detail of a Lutma dish

		- Detail of [brass](/source/Brass) choir-screen by Lutma, [Nieuwe Kerk, Amsterdam](/source/Nieuwe_Kerk%2C_Amsterdam)

		- The [Adam van Vianen Memorial ewer](/source/Memorial_Guild_Cup_(Adam_van_Vianen)) in *Joseph and his Brothers*, by [Gerbrand van den Eeckhout](/source/Gerbrand_van_den_Eeckhout)

## In other media

The style was also effective in other materials, such as stone in gable stones, or carved wood used for furniture[16] and especially picture frames.[17] Different varieties became popular in both English and Dutch frames. One English type are known as **Sunderland frames** after the frames [Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland](/source/Robert_Spencer%2C_2nd_Earl_of_Sunderland) put on the pictures at [Althorp](/source/Althorp), his new country house.[18]

		- Auricular frames on portraits dated 1654 by [Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen](/source/Cornelis_Janssens_van_Ceulen)

		- Gable stone on the monument 'Onder de Boompjes', a [rijksmonument](/source/Rijksmonument)

		- 'Onder de Boompjes' was part of a warehouse complex built in 1621 for the *[V.O. Compagnie](/source/Dutch_East_India_Company)*

		- 1646 map of [Haarlem](/source/Haarlem) showing the title within a cartouche in auricular style

		- Engraved portrait by Jacob Lutma after [Johannes Lutma](/source/Johannes_Lutma) the Elder, of [Hans von Aachen](/source/Hans_von_Aachen) with [Adriaen de Vries](/source/Adriaen_de_Vries) and [Paul van Vianen](/source/Paul_van_Vianen) with cartouche in auricular style

Around the mid-century, Cardinal [Leopoldo de' Medici](/source/Leopoldo_de'_Medici) had his large picture collection, housed in the [Pitti Palace](/source/Pitti_Palace) in [Florence](/source/Florence), reframed in the auricular style,[19] perhaps influenced by [Stefano della Bella](/source/Stefano_della_Bella). These **Medici frames** were more three-dimensional than the other frame styles, with more areas both raised or entirely cut through.[20] The framing styles were long-lasting, surviving in use long enough to be reinvigorated by the [Rococo](/source/Rococo).

The style was effective for [cartouches](/source/Cartouche), whether in three-dimensional uses or for bookplates and the like. It later influenced Rococo and then [Art Nouveau](/source/Art_Nouveau) ornament.[21]

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Schroder, "[the style] in its fully developed form is found only in metalwork."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Osborne, 61

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Frederiks, J.W., *Wrought Plate of North and South-Holland from the Renaissance Until the End of the Eighteenth Century*, p. xiv, 2014, Springer, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9401036977](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9401036977), 9789401036979, [google books](https://books.google.com/books?id=dnHyCAAAQBAJ&pg=PR24)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Schroder, "... its origins seem to lie in the graphic designs of such 16th-century Italian Mannerist artists as Giulio Romano (e.g. drawing for a fish-shaped ewer; Oxford, Christ Church) and Enea Vico. The latter’s designs for plate were published in the mid-16th century and may have been known in Utrecht."

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** A ewer is illustrated in John Fleming and Hugh Honour, *Dictionary of the Decorative Arts*, *s.v.* "Auricular style".

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Osborne, 61

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Walters page on the object](http://art.thewalters.org/detail/3500/drinking-cup-bratina/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Liedtke (2001), no. 146 (1630); Schroder

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Schroder lists a number; Rijksmuseum pages: [Adam van Vianen 1614](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/BK-1976-75), [Paulus van Vianen 1613](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/explore-the-collection/overview/paulus-van-vianen/objects#/BK-16089-B,4), [Lutma 1647](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/explore-the-collection/overview/johannes-lutma/objects#/BK-NM-10244-A,4)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Schroder in [Oxford Art Online](/source/Oxford_Art_Online), "Adam van Vianen"

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Liedtke (2007), 186-188, giving examples including [*Joseph and his brothers* (this is the Warsaw version)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gerbrand_van_den_Eeckhout_-_Josef_and_his_brothers_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) by [Gerbrand van den Eeckhout](/source/Gerbrand_van_den_Eeckhout). See the article on the ewer for several more.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** Trilling, James, *The Language of Ornament*, p. 66, 2001, Thames and Hudson, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0500203431](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0500203431)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** Schroder in [Oxford Art Online](/source/Oxford_Art_Online), "Adam van Vianen"

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [Rijsmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/collectie/BK-16089-A)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** [The Dolphin Basin](https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O78430/the-dolphin-basin-basin-vianen-christiaen-van/) by Christian van Vianen, [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Designs for chairs in auricular style were published by the furniture-maker Friedrich Untensch, Frankfort-am-Main, *ca* 1650 (noted in Fleming and Honour 1977).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** Mosco; An example is noted in Harold Osborne, ed. *The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts*, *s.v.* "Auricular Style" is a frame made by [Lucas Killian](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lucas_Killian&action=edit&redlink=1) of [Augsburg](/source/Augsburg) for his portrait of Elias Holl, 1619.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** Sacorafou, Suzanne, ["A ‘Sunderland’ frame"](https://auricularstyleframes.wordpress.com/2016/10/14/a-sunderland-frame/), "Auricular Style: Frames project" website.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Mosco; Davis Deborah, [The Secret Lives of Frames: One Hundred Years of Art and Artistry](https://books.google.com/books?id=EqgsQURQXDgC&dq=Auricular+style&pg=PA54), 54

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Kerraker, Gene D., *Looking at European Frames: A Guide to Terms, Styles, and Techniques*, 18-21, 2009, Getty Publications, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0892369817](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0892369817), 9780892369812, [google books](https://books.google.com/books?id=tsWqwGdiXKcC&dq=Auricular+style&pg=PA19)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** Osborne, 61

## References

- Liedtke (2001): Liedtke, Walter A. (ed.), [Vermeer and The Delft School](http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/65202/rec/17), 2001, exhibition catalogue from The [Metropolitan Museum of Art](/source/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780870999734](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780870999734), [google books](https://books.google.com/books?id=EZxWaNlQKiYC&pg=PA534)

- Liedtke (2007): Liedtke, Walter A. (ed.), *Dutch Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art*, 2 vols., 2007, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1588392732](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1588392732), 9781588392732, [google books](https://books.google.com/books?id=jtnQ7PIT8mcC&pg=PA186)

- Mosco, Marilena, ["Anthropomorphism and Zoömorphism in the ‘Medici’ picture frames"](https://auricularstyleframes.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/anthropomorphism-and-zoomorphism-in-the-medici-picture-frames/) one of the papers at the "Auricular Style: Frames project" website in External links below

- Osborne, Harold (ed), *The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts*, 1975, OUP, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0198661134](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0198661134)

- Schroder, Timothy, "Auricular style." Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press, accessed December 15, 2012, [Oxford Art Online](http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/article/grove/art/T005021) (subscription required)

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Auricular style](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Auricular_style).

- [Christiaen van Vianen cup](http://www.museumnetworkuk.org/materials/galleries/vianen.html) in the collection of [Waddesdon Manor](/source/Waddesdon_Manor)

- [The Auricular Style: Frames project](https://auricularstyleframes.wordpress.com/about/), with abstracts of papers from a 2016 conference on auricular picture frames, and links to some full texts.

- Speelberg, Femke. “Extravagant Monstrosities: Gold- and Silversmith Designs in the Auricular Style.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2014. [online](https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/extr/hd_extr.htm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Auricular style](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricular_style) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auricular_style?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.