Featured Could This Be A Lobmeyr Glass Box ?

I bought this box at auction today. I had no idea who made it but it just screamed quality.

The box measures 13.5x9.5cm and is 6cm tall.


The quality of gilding and enamelling is amazing.

I managed to translate the gothic script as Heartfelt Congratulations On New Year 1912 on one side and Wilhelm Von Boschen on the other.

I found the vase in this link with a piece by Lobmyer bearing the same inscription (different year).
https://www.dorotheum.com/en/l/5281031/

I can’t find anything about Wilhelm but he must have been wealthy to have pieces of such quality made as gifts.
Do any glass experts think that this too was made by Lobmyer?

 

Stunning box.

Wilhelm von Boschan, aka Wilhelm Ritter von Boschan. Ritter means knight. He had a wholesaler's business with links to the royal and imperial court in Vienna.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilhem_von_Boschan_death_notice,_Vienna,_1890.jpg

Edit:
Looking at the dates, your Wilhelm must have been the son of Wilhelm in the link.

 

Possibly his son as he died in 1890 and this is dated 1912 or maybe his business had his name and carried on after his death.

 

The business was called Joseph Boschan und Söhne (and Sons). The business went on for several generations. Your Wilhelm would have been the grandson of Joseph, if I am correct.

Boschan genealogy:

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~prohel/genealogy/names/fried/boschan.html

 

An entire page on what is probably your Wilhelm, but it is in Polish(?) and impossible to copy to run it through google translate

https://www.novanobilitas.eu/rod/boschan-1867-wilhelm

Do we have anyone who speaks Polish? @bluumz maybe?

The site is called Novanobilitas, new nobility, which is what von Boschan was.
The family were Jewish:

https://www.geni.com/people/Friedrich-von-Boschan/6000000009542696334

I gather from the different sites that they imported spices.

 

Back to Lobmeyr, they may have records, you can ask them (they speak English):

https://www.lobmeyr.at/contact/

https://www.lobmeyr.at/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._&_L._Lobmeyr

 

Thank you. Good idea.

 

I managed to translate that Polish page but it refers to the 18th century family

 

No idea if the translation is correct, but:
The ancestors of Boschan allegedly came from Poznan, but in the 18th century, the family settled in Nové Mesto nad Váhom in Hungary (now Slovakia), where its members were involved in trade. Around 1808, one member of the family moved to Vienna, and his descendants established a strong branch of the family there. The Boschan family in Vienna were mainly involved in trade. Josef Boschan's company (1850) specialized in industrial goods and gradually became one of the largest in Austria. Josef's closest associates were his sons Wilhelm (1813-1890) and Friedrich (1817-1871), who named the company Josef Boschan's Söhne after their father's death.

Wilhelm was born in Vienna in 1813 and began working in his father's factory in 1827, becoming an official partner in 1832. Two years later, his younger brother became another partner in the factory, and the business grew rapidly. In addition to trading in industrial goods, the company also owned a number of weaving mills and other textile businesses in several crown lands of the monarchy. The Eratri family also had a strong social conscience, and during the cholera epidemic of 1854-1855, despite poor sales, they did not interrupt production in their factories and continued to provide work for many workers.

In addition to his work in the family business, Wilhelm was also involved in finance and, over time, became a renowned expert in this field. From 1848, he was a member of the Lower Austrian Sparkasse, where he also held the position of auditor from 1849. He then held this position at the Austrian National Bank from 1852.

In 1849, he was elected to the municipal council of the imperial and royal capital and residence city of Vienna, where he served for another eleven years. From 1851, he was a member of the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, where he dealt mainly with customs matters and made a significant contribution to the development of the monarchy's economy. When the Imperial Stock Exchange Chamber was established by imperial decree, he was elected as its councilor by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

As the state's economy was severely affected by the revolutionary events of 1848-1849, a group of prominent financiers took the initiative to establish the Auxiliary Council (Aushilfe-Comité), which provided the Austrian National Bank with millions of gold coins to help those affected. Wilhelm Boschan was a member of the council, and his work was recognized by the monarch with the highest honor.

After the council ceased its activities, the Lower Austrian Eskomptni Bank was established in 1854 for similar reasons, and Wilhelm was also a shareholder at its inception. He was later elected president of the bank's board, then became a member of the board of directors and later deputy chairman of the board of directors. At the same time, he served as a member of the board of directors of the Western Railway of Empress Elisabeth from its founding in 1859. He was also very active in organizing and underwriting loans for the benefit of the state.

For these merits, Franz Joseph I awarded him the Order of the Iron Crown, Third Class, in a cabinet letter dated August 31, 1866. In December, the same order was also awarded to his brother Friedrich. In May, the brothers requested promotion to knighthood on the basis of the order's statutes. The letters of nobility were issued on June 8, 1867. Wilhelm thus acquired the title of Knight von Boschan (Ritter von Boschan) and a coat of arms that differed only in detail from that of his younger sibling:

Red and gold shield In the front field is a silver slanted bar with three bees in natural colors. In the left corner, a black lion with a red tongue rises from a black cogwheel at the bottom of the shield. Two crowned tournament lances stand on the shield. On a red and silver background are two closed red wings with silver feathers, each with a silver diagonal bar, the front one bearing a natural-colored crest. A black lion with a red tongue rises from the shield with black and gold fringes. Under the shield is a gold scroll with the black motto LABOR HONORAT.

Wilhelm was later appointed president of the Wholesale Trade Committee (Großhandels-Gremium). In 1832, he married Pauline Mayer, with whom he had two daughters, Betty (died 1905), married to Sigmund Landaue, and Hermine, married to Daniel Porlitz, and three sons: Karl (died 1902), Luise, and Gustav (1842-1873). In the second half of the 19th century, Luís was the owner of the Homorakousko castle and the Achle ten estate near Kremze. He was also the founder of the Homorakousko Museum Society. The family line continued with Karl's and Gustav's children.

 

There's another Boschan page on the same site:
https://www.novanobilitas.eu/rod/boschan-19031910

 

That will be him I think

 

Google AI view

The provided text is a biographical account, likely from a historical or genealogical source, detailing the history of the Boschan family, of Jewish origin, who established themselves in commerce in the 18th century and later diversified into state administration in Vienna. Key figures mentioned include Alexander, Friedrich, and Wilhelm Boschan, who were ennobled in 1867. A later prominent figure, the industrialist Wilhelm Boschan (1845-1920), expanded the family business in agricultural seeds and mining products, specializing in aluminum and zinc oxide, and became a significant figure in Viennese commerce, banking, and philanthropy.

 

You find the most exquisite things .

 

I only know scattered words and phrases. Having had only one Polish parent, the language wasn't spoken in my childhood home unless Dad had Polish friends over. My parents enrolled me in a twelve-week Polish class when I was about ten but I don't remember getting much out of it.
When I was in home health care, I used to listen to Pimsleur Polish language CDs while driving around but when one doesn't keep up with learning a language, it just doesn't stick. I do regret that!

My Chrome browser translated the page but I see that's already been taken care of.

 

It's Czech

Right-click on the page to get the menu that includes the translation option didn't work, so I created an image, and used a tool to convert it to a text in Word. Then ran it through a translation site, that didn't accept the complete text in one go, so I had to copy-paste-translate-copy-paste it in parts. Took a few minutes to do this...
And now I see that the translation option is in the address bar of Chrome

 

For those who don't have/can't find the translation button, here's the Chrome translation of the 1903/1910 Boschan text:

Boschan 1903/1910
Label: Jewish nobility

The ancestors of the Boschans are said to have come from Poznan, but in the 18th century the family had already settled in the Hungarian town of Nove Mesto nad Vahom (in present-day Slovakia), where its members were engaged in trade. Around 1808, one member of the family settled in Vienna, and the family had already branched out considerably through his descendants. While in the first and second generations the Viennese Boschans were mainly engaged in trade, from the third generation onwards they were also found in important positions in the state administration. In 1867, three members of the family - Alexander (1809-1878), president of the provincial criminal court in Vienna, Friedrich (1817-1871), wholesaler in Vienna, imperial councillor and assessor of the commercial court, and Wilhelm (1813-1890), stock exchange councillor, acting president of the Lower Austrian Escomptni bank, director of the Lower Austrian Sparkasse and wholesaler in Vienna - were promoted on the basis of the award of the Order of the Iron Crown HL class to knighthood. Although the family was of Jewish origin, in the years 1818-1839 most of their members (in the generation of the above-mentioned noblemen) converted.
A contemporary of the Boschan knights was the industrialist Wilhelm Boschan (1845-1920). Like his ancestors, he was involved in trade and in 1868 he became a partner in the family firm " Gebruder Boschan " founded four years earlier. The company, which was awarded the title of court supplier in 1871, traded in both agricultural seeds and mining and metallurgical products, specializing in aluminum and zinc oxide, which were still relatively rare at the time, and exported them to Germany, Russia and the Orient. At the beginning of the 20th century, the company had an annual turnover of several million crowns.
In 1878, Wilhelm became a member of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and Trade and was later appointed an associate of its court of justice and communications committee. In 1888, he was appointed as a permanent clerk to the State Railway Board and later to other commissions and committees. In 1890, he received the highly prestigious position of censor of the Austro-Hungarian Bank. He also participated in humanitarian activities and was a member of the federal committee of the Austrian Red Cross Society and the first vice-president of the Lower Austrian Red Cross relief association. In addition, he became famous as a patron of the arts, spending large sums on purchases from famous artists and donating his famous collection of vedute of the city of Vienna to the Vienna Modernen Galerie.
For these services, he was appointed commercial councilor, in 1897 he received the title of imperial councilor, a year later the Knight's Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph and by the highest decision of December 28, 1902 the emperor elevated him to the nobility without tax. Subsequently, with a diploma of March 27,1903, Wilhelm Boschan received the honorary title of nobleman (Edler von) and the coat of arms:
a red shield with a golden head, in which a rising black eagle with golden armor and a red tongue can be seen. The lower field is divided by a red tip, in which there are three red labels (2:1). To the right of the tip is a silver Mercury's staff, to the left a silver heraldic cross. On the shield stands a crowned tournament helmet with red-silver coverings. The jewel is two closed red wings - the front divided into silver-red, the back gold-black.
Wilhelm the nobleman Boschan also had merit in establishing the building of the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Vienna, after its completion in 1907 he was given the highest recognition and in 1908 was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown, 3rd class. Since his marriage remained childless, on March 9, 1910, he asked the monarch to transfer his title to his nephews Georg and Heinrich, sons of his older brother Georg (1840-1918).
Georg Boschan, like his brother, was a partner in the company " Gebruder Boschan"", but unlike his sibling, he was also involved in politics. In 1872 he was elected to the municipal council of the city of Vienna, where he served for 23 years. He served as chairman of the orphan and financial departments for several years and served on the city council from 1891 to 1895. For his services, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of Franz Joseph in 1882. He later became a member of the Lower Austrian Provincial Assembly. With Maria GauB (1848-1903), he had two daughters and the aforementioned sons, who had been partners in the family business since the beginning of the 20th century.
Since the Ministry of the Interior approved the request of Wilhelm the nobleman Boschan, the emperor transferred his title, predicate and coat of arms to both nephews by a supreme decision of 8 December 1910 as a special grace, which was confirmed on 6 February 1911 through documents for each of the brothers.
The elder Georg (1875-1957), commercial councilor and reserve imperial rhythm master, married Leona Aebly zubenannt Kilchmatter (*1886) in 1911. He owned a residential and commercial building at Traungasse 6 in the third district of Vienna, near the Belvedere, where he lived. The marriage produced their only daughter, Erika (*1926), who married Dr. Hans Reichert, relatively late in life.
The younger Heinrich (1877-1952) graduated from the famous Schottengymnasium in Vienna and received a doctorate in law from the University of Vienna. He finished his military service as imperial governor. In addition to his work at the Gebruder Boschan company, he was also the general manager of the aluminum factory in Lend. In 1906, he married Alice (*1882) in Vienna, the daughter of Moritz Knight Manner, originally from a business family, and lived in a villa at Larochengasse 27 near Schonbrunn. In addition to this property, he was also a co-owner of the aforementioned house on Traungasse.
Wilhelm the Boschan nobleman continued his humanitarian activities even in old age. He financially supported the charity of the Order of the Teutonic Knights and was a bearer of the Neck Cross of Mary. During the First World War, he was the second vice-president of the Austrian Red Cross Society and received the Badge of Honor of the Red Cross, 1st class with war decoration for his merits. His services to the state and to the needy were then recognized by Emperor Charles I with the highest decision of April 4, 1917 , when he promoted him to the rank of knight without tax. By a diploma dated March 1,1918, Wilhelm was confirmed as Knight of Boschan (Ritter von Boschan) and his coat of arms was improved:
A red shield with a golden head, in which a soaring black eagle with golden armor and a red tongue can be seen. The lower field is divided by a silver tip, in which there are three red labels (2:1). To the right of the tip is a silver Mercury's staff, to the left a silver heraldic cross. On the shield stands a crowned tournament helmet with red-silver covers. The jewel is two closed wings - the front divided silver-red, the back gold-black.
The knighthood was not passed on to the nephews. Since neither Georg nor Heinrich had male descendants, the Boschan noble family died out in this generation.

Jager-Sunstenau, Hanns, The Ennobled Jewish Families in Pre-War Vienna, doctoral dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Vienna, Vienna 1950.

 

Took a better photo for the eBay listing. It really is a beautiful piece.

 

Never expected to be considered one of the elderly at 48, but now that I have to use reading glasses, the grey hairs become more numerous, and I can't find a simple button in Chrome, I guess I am indeed officially old ...

 

not by our standards !!!!!!