constanze mozart's pearl necklace and the heß brothers

1© Dr. Michael Lorenz 2012. All rights reserved.

Michael Lorenz

Constanze Mozart's Pearl Necklace and the Heß Brothers

In her will, written on 23 June 1841, Constanze Nissen bequeathed a pearl necklace to her sonswith the following words: "11 Schnüre gute Perlen mit Elfenbein-Schließe, von dem berühmtenHesse in Brillanten gefaßt"("11 strings of good pearls with an ivory clasp by the famous Hesseencircled with diamonds"). A miniature portrait of Constanze Nissen by Thomas Spitzer showsher wearing the pearl necklace in question:

According to the Mozarteum this portrait was done in 1826, but this dating seems to be falsesince Thomas Spitzer already died on 15 August 1821.

In early 2010 Günther G. Bauer published his book Mozart. Geld, Ruhm und Ehre in which heclaims to shed light on Mozart's finances. Bauer's book is one of the worst books on Mozart inrecent years and a true example of what today's fake Mozart scholarship can lead to. Bauerpresents an endless heap of pointless speculation on Mozart's expenses that have no basis inarchival research and no connection whatsoever with primary sources. One of the worst flaws ofBauer's book is the fact that he naively takes his data on Mozart's income from MaynardSolomon's Mozart biography, not realizing that Solomon's numbers themselves are the result ofill-informed presumptions and flawed estimates. Bauer's book is basically a huge waste of moneywhich Bauer mistakes for a pathbreaking study in cultural history. The most entertaining parts inBauer's opus are definitely the ones where he tries to apply his imaginary research skills to dealwith special issues of Mozart's finances. In the chapter titled "Goldene Uhren, Schmuck undTabatieren" ("Gold Watches, Jewelry and Tobacco Boxes") Bauer claims to have identified thejeweler who made Constanze Mozart's pearl necklace and its valuable clasp. His line of argumentis absolutely priceless.


In one of his legendary begging letters to Michael von Puchberg Mozart refers to a"Galanteriewarenhändler" (owner of a fancy store) located at the Stock im Eisen, whom he owed100 florins. Bauer arbitrarily identifies this merchant as Johann Georg Haas who ran a"Galanteriewarenhandlung" named "The King of Hungary" in the house No. 1093 (from 1795until 1821 No. 1159) on the Graben opposite St. Stephen's Cathedral. Bauer located an interestinglist of goods that were available at Haas's shop:

Curiously, Bauer turns the name Haas into "Häas", an error which was obviously caused by twoscratches above the first "a" in Haas's name on the printing plate of the above list:

Of course the name of this tradesman was Haas. The name "Häas" does not exist, except inBauer's imagination. All the primary sources pertaining to the merchant Johann Georg Haas(1754-1826) in Vienna's archives are absolutely clear on this issue:


Johann Georg Haas's signature on his 1780 marriage contract (A-Wsa, Merkantilgericht, Fasz. 3, 1. Reihe, H 61)

It turns out however that Bauer desperately needs the hallucinated umlaut in "Häas" to establish aconnection between Constanze Mozart's pearl necklace, Mozart's debt and Johann Georg Haas.Based on his willful renaming, Bauer identifies the "famous Hesse", whom Constanze Mozartmentions in her will, as the Viennese "Galanteriewarenhändler" Johann Georg Haas whom, forthe sake of this tormented identification, he must call "Häas". Yet, whoever knows even a littlebit about jewelry and ivory sculpture in the 18th century realizes immediately that the "famousHesse" can only refer to the really famous Sebastian Hess (1732-1800), or his younger brotherPaul Hess (1744-1798). Because of their miniature ivory sculptures, carved with inexplicablemastery, set on a blue background and covered with rock crystal glass, these two engravers (asthey called themselves) have become truly legendary figures in the history of art. The VienneseGalanteriewarenhändler Johann Georg Haas (who was not a regular jeweler and therefore was notallowed to sell pearl necklaces) has no provable connection with Constanze Mozart's pearlnecklace.

Owing to the fact that Viennese art historians are even less competent in doing biographicalresearch than their local musicologist colleagues, very little is known about Sebastian and PaulHeß. The only author who has recently published on the Heß brothers is the Austrian art historianPeter Hartmann, who however does not even know when exactly those two artists died. ThereforeI decided to shed more light on the two brothers from Bamberg, who produced some of the mostamazing specimens of ivory micro-carving known today. To realize the very special kind of artwe are dealing with, when we speak of the wonders that the Heß brothers produced, we have totake a look at Sebastian Heß's so-called Maria-Theresia Brooch which took the artist three yearsto make:

This unique piece of jewelry, whose value in 2002 was estimated at 375,000 €, is only sevencentimeters wide. The three river miniature landscapes contain 26 figurines, five houses, fivetrees and two ships (of which one is only one milimeter high). The blue background is made ofpulverized cobalt, applied inside the silver case that holds the sculpture.


Sebastian Heß: Centerpiece of the Maria-Theresia Brooch (2,4 x 1,7 cm)

The fishing rod of the fisherman on this centerpiece of the brooch is about 0,02 mm thick. HowSebastian Heß managed to carve the branches of the trees without ever tilting with the file isabsolutely inexplicable. The problem is not only the cutting and filing of the piece of ivory, it isalso the extremely difficult task of mechanically fixing it in such a way that prevents it frombreaking while being worked on. The carvings of Paul Heß (no Viennese source ever calls himPaul Johann) excel in similar dazzling micro-artistry. The exquisitely lifelike shape of his trees iseven more intricate and thus quite distinguishable from his brother's work. The size of thefollowing landscape with a classical facade (with the signature HESS) is 3,2 x 2,7 cm:


Paul Heß: Landscape with Classical Facade

Both of the above pieces of jewelry were given by Maria Theresia to her personal physician JanIngenhousz for rescuing her family from smallpox. In 1779 after his return to EnglandIngenhousz sold them for a fortune and until their sale in December 2002 they were part of theso-called Connoisseur Collection that consisted of 29 micro carvings. In 1782 the Germanhistorian Johann Georg Meusel (1743-1820), who was personally acquainted with the Heßbrothers, described their work in his addenda to Füeßli's Lexicon Miscellaneen artistischenInhalts as follows:

The brothers Heß, born in Bamberg; for a long time they lived inBrussels, where especially the elder stood in high regard of the late PrinceCharles of Lorraine whom he had to assist with the Prince's varioushobbies. Since several years both brothers have settled in Vienna, wherethey still reside. The actual object of their art consists of ivory, fromwhich especially the younger delivers pieces of incomprehensiblesmallness and delicacy; by then (1780) he was working on a box lid forthe Russian Empress that shows a rural landscape with trees, a farmhouseand a view on the water, where one could see people, cattle andeverything arranged and executed so splendidly, that the


incomprehensibly small is in no way inferior to the greatest in art. He alsomakes bracelets of this kind for ladies and rings for both sexes thatcurrently are so very popular in Vienna that only few ladies andgentlemen don't wear them. Heß makes his trees and figures through amagnifying glass piece by piece and then pins them with glue into theivory bottom one after the other. The background is always blue to makethe beauty of his wooly incomparable trees even more discernible. Hisforgrounds he usually decorates with a bridge, Roman ruins or a countryhouse. At the same time he knows how to set everything properly intoaction; at one place he engages a countrywoman in feeding her fowl andyou see the oats fall from her hands: elsewhere a young man is standingin a tree, throwing an apple into the apron of a girl and you can actuallysee the apple's stem in his hand: at a third place a woman is drawingwater from a well and in her hands one can see the ivory rope goingacross a wheel: here and there he puts a recumbent sheperd with hiscattle, or assigns some other rural activity to his figures. [...] Heß is acompletely singular genius and an enthusiast of this art which he is ableto judge with deep understanding. The easiness of his work is incredible;I have been watching him many times for hours with amazement, how heproduces one creature after the other with his delicate saw; one thinks tobe able to imitate the man's work, only to finally leave him, indignantabout the fact that nobody can learn anything from this man, whocertainly has no peer.

Paul Heß: Maid at the Well (1,4 x 1,2 cm!)


Paul Heß: Pastoral Scene at the Foot of a Rock (clasp of a necklace, 3,2 x 2,7 cm)

Archival research shows that there were actually four Heß brothers living in Vienna in the lastquarter of the 18th century.

1) Theodor Heß. He was born in 1730 in Bamberg the son of master locksmith Philipp JacobHeß and his wife Maria Margaretha. He was the first of the Heß brothers, who moved to Vienna.At the occasion of his marriage on 14 August 1768 to Maria Magdalena Kreyl he declared tohave come to Vienna already in 1764:

The entry concerning Theodor Heß's wedding on 14 August 1768 in Vienna's Schottenkirche (A-Ws, Tom. 32, fol.188v)

Theodor Heß's best man in 1768 was his younger brother Conrad's father-in-law JosephGissinger. From 1768 (or even earlier) until his death Theodor Heß always lived in the house"Zum weißen Schlüssel" ("At the White Key") No. 363 in the Tiefer Graben (today TieferGraben 13):


The house Tiefer Graben 363 (Puthon's house Am Hof 309 is on the left)

With his first wife Heß had one daughter and three sons, all of whom had Johann Baptist Puthonand his mother Eva Barbara Schuller as prominent godparents. Puthon (1745-1816), who by thattime was still addressed as "Wechsler" (banker), was soon to become one of the wealthiestfactory owners and merchants of the Austrian monarchy. Heß must have made the banker'sacquaintance at the house of his first father-in-law Franz Kreyl, who ran an inn in Puthon's houseStadt No. 309 "Zur großen Weintraube" ("At the Large Grape", today Am Hof 7, the place ofbirth of the painter Joseph Mathias Grassi). After the death of his first wife Theodor Heß marriedagain in 1782. His second wife was Elisabeth Schubert, daughter of Albert Schubert, a carpenterat the Schottenhof. She bore Heß two more daughters (b. 1783 and 1789). Theodor Heß, "K.K.Hof und bürgerlicher Schlossermeister" died of "Harnblasen" (some bladder problem) on 5December 1798.

2) Sebastian Heß He was born in 1732 in Bamberg. Like his father and his brothers he became alocksmith. This profession seems to have been essential for the micro-sculpturing craftsmanshipof the Heß brothers, because many of the inexplicable mysteries of their art were obviouslyfounded in various self invented and specially handcrafted metal tools. In the second volume ofhis encyclopedia Das gelehrte Oesterreich Ignaz de Luca expressedly refers to Heß's initialprofession:

The sources suggest that Sebastian Heß and his brothers already came to Vienna before 1770. By1773 Sebastian was definitely active there, since in that year he started to work on his brooch forthe Empress which he finished in 1775.


The two Hess brothers, listed as ivory sculptors in Joseph von Kurzböck's Neueste Beschreibung allerMerkwürdigkeiten Wiens (Vienna 1779)

In 1790 he published a book titled Geschichte des alten Roms in Medaillen von Johann Dassierund Sohn (gedruckt bey Fr. Ant. Schrämbl. k. k. privileg. Buchdrucker und Buchhändler) inwhich he calls himself "engraver and mechanic at the late Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine".In Vienna the brothers Sebastian and Paul lived together in the house Stadt 116 on theSchottenbastei (today Helferstorferstraße 1) which is documented by the church records of theSchotten parish and Ignaz de Luca's 1787 handbook Wiens gegenwärtiger Zustand unter JosephsRegierung.

And another Viennese guidebook, von Lichtenstern's Statistisch-geographische Beschreibung desErzherzogthums Oestreich unter der Ens (Kleinmayr 1791):

Sebastian also produced medals and cast copies of his own micro-sculptures which he made of aspecial alabaster-like substance and sold for seven Kreuzer apiece. Before 1798 a major strifeseems to have occurred between the brothers, because on 23 March 1799, almost a year after thedeath of his younger brother, Sebastian Heß published an ad in the Wiener Zeitung, in which hecompletely denied the artistic activity of his brother Paul and denounced him as mere distributorof his own ivory artworks (a claim that is of course refuted by J. G. Meusel's account and othertestimonies):

Nachricht.


Dem verehrungswürdigsten Publikum den irrigen Wahn zu benehmen,daß mein nicht mehr lebender Bruder Paul Heß, der wahre Künstler inGraveur=Arbeiten aus Elfenbein gewesen wäre, fordert mich auf, hiermitöffentlich bekannt zu machen, daß ich diesem, nur den Verkehr meinerArbeiten, in Rücksicht seiner Familie, übertragen hatte, zugleich aberauch anzuzeigen, daß von nun an bey mir selbst Bestellungen auf alleGattungen von Graveur=Arbeiten aus Elfenbein, als: Figuren, Blumen,Opfer, Namen, kleine Landschaften u.s.w. für Kabinetstücke, Schliessen,Medaillons, Dosen und Ringe können gemacht werden.

Notice.To relieve the honorable public of the mistaken illusion that my deceasedbrother was the true artist of the ivory engravings, I see myself obliged topublicly declare that out of consideration for his family I had merelyassigned him with the distribution of my work. At the same time Iherewith announce that from now on orders can be made with mepersonally for all kind of engravings from ivory, i.e. figures, flowers,votiv pictures, names, small landscapes etc. for cabinet pieces, clasps,medallions, boxes and rings.

Sebastian's wife Anna Heß ("Kunst=Graveurs Ehegattin") died on 5 February 1786 from uterinecancer at the age of 55 in the so-called Tischlerherberg, Stadt 1344 ("The Carpenters' Hostel",today Ballgasse 8). Sebastian had two children: Elisabeth, born in Brussels in 1767 and Franz,born in 1769, who at the time of his mother's death served as artillerist in the Austrian army inKaiserebersdorf Castle. When Sebastian Heß died on 13 December 1800 of dyspnea ("anDampf") in the house Jägergasse 20 on the Laimgrube (today Papagenogasse 4), both his childrenwere already dead. Heß's belongings were auctioned off for net 255 fl 28 x, but at the gatheringof the creditors on 26 March 1801 it turned out that the debts of the deceased amounted to 1,533fl 27 x. The meager assets were used to cover the remaining rent, the physician's fee and theburial. Sebastian's younger brother Conrad Heß of course renounced the inheritance.


Sebastian Heß (A-Wn, PORT_00115962_01)

3) Conrad Heß. He was born in Bamberg in 1737 and also became a locksmith. His firstmarriage on 10 May 1767 to Eleonora Gissinger (b. 1744, daughter of the Viennese locksmithJoseph Gissinger) at St. Stephen's is the second earliest documentary evidence of a Heß sibling'sactual presence in Vienna.

The entry concerning Conrad Hess's marriage to Eleonora Gissinger on 10 May 1767 (A-Wd, Tom. 64, fol. 9v)

After the death of his first wife on 23 December 1770 Conrad Heß time in January 1771 gotmarried a second to Anna Maria Hallmann in the parish of St. Ulrich. It seems likely that hisbrothers and his half-sister Johanna Heß came to Vienna around the year 1770. Conrad Heß'ssuccess in his profession enabled him on 12 May 1786 to purchase the house Stadt 640 (todayRotgasse 9) which on 2 October 1807 he sold again for 10,500 fl to the merchant Bernhard vonGrandin. Conrad Heß and his second wife (who died in 1808) had no children. He died on 31January 1809 in the house Stadt 756 (today Fleischmarkt 11) and bequeathed 12,733 gulden tohis half-sister Johanna and the two children of his younger brother Paul. The main part of hisestate however consisted of a debt certificate from the buyer of his house which two years laterwas to lose significantly in value.


Conrad Hess's signature from 1796 (A-Wsa, Mag. ZG, A10, 210/1808)

4) Paul Heß. He was born in Bamberg in 1744 and like his brothers seems at first to have takenup the profession of a locksmith. His marriage to Katharina Dobler, the daughter of an employeeof Archduchess Maria Elisabeth of Austria (1680-1741), took place in Brussels. He had severalchildren of whom only two reached adulthood.

Paul Heß in the 1788 Steuerfassion as tenant of an apartment on the 4th floor of the house Stadt 116 (A-Wsa,Steueramt B34/1, fol. 151)

Paul Heß did not only dedicate himself to ivory carving, but also made a number of technicalinventions. In 1791 he unsuccessfully tried to establish a production of self designed "Englishbuckles" and in 1795 he presented a newly invented telegraph in the Prater ("eine von ihm ganzneu erfundene, noch nie gesehene beleuchtete Fernschreibmaschine") that used colored lightsignals to communicate information. In November 1795 he also demonstrated his telegraph in thek.k. Reitschule for an entrance fee of ten to 30 Kreuzer. In order to be able to become a memberof the Viennese K.K. Pensionsverein bildender Künstler (the I. & R. pension society of visualartists), he needed to apply to the Empress herself, presenting a certificate of his entitlement. On2 June 1794 the K.K. Hofzeichenmeister and vice director of the society Lorenz Kohl dulyobliged and wrote the following:

It is herewith certified by the Pension Society of Visual Artists in Viennathat Paul Heß is a well-known artist in carving small figures, especially ofivory and that he belongs to the class of visual artists.

On 5 July 1794 Heß submitted a detailed application to Empress Marie Therese, explaining themain reason for his dire financial situation:

Owing to the unfortunate revolutions and the lengthy war the livelihoodof the undersigned, which made good progress based on the shipment ofsmall ivory works to foreign countries, has been cut back to such an


extent that he is unable to raise the necessary deposit for the membershipin the aforesaid institution.

Paul Heß's letter to Empress Marie Therese (A-Wsa, Private Institutionen, Pensionsgesellschaft bildender Künstler,A1/1)

The Empress of course granted Paul Heß a free membership in the Pensionsgesellschaftbildender Künstler. His financial situation however did not improve. At least he was able toprocure a secure job for his son Franz Joseph (b. 8 April 1774), who being employed asIngrossist der K.K. Tabakgefällsbuchhalterei provided housing and financial support for hisparents. On 17 May 1798 Paul Heß committed suicide by jumping into the Danube. His body wasfound almost one month later and on 15 June 1798 was autopsied in Vienna's General Hospital.The entry in the death records of the Magistrate reads as follows:

Heß, Paul Graveur von N° 14 in der Josephstadt, welcher in der Donauertrunken gefunden und im Allgemeinen Krankenhaus gerichtl[ich]besch[au]t worden, alt 54 J[ah]r.

Heß was survived by his wife, his son Franz Joseph and his daughter Katharina (b. 25 October1778). He left absolutely nothing and his estate was "armuthshalber abgetan" (discounted owingto poverty) by the civil court. The Emperor, who was notoriously interested in cases of murderand suicide, took keen interest in Heß's tragic death and the protocol of the Imperial Cabinet-Chancellery duly notes: "Hess, Paul Elfenbeingraveur. Hat sich wahrscheinlich wegen Schuldenin der Donau ersäuft." ("Killed himself in the Danube presumably because of debts"). Notsurprisingly none of Paul Heß's three brothers reported to the authorities in the course of the legalproceedings at the civil court. It seems that the rift between Paul and Sebastian was mainly


caused by Paul's inability to pay back money his brother had lent him. In 1799 Paul's son FranzJoseph Heß was promoted to the rank of Raitoffizier (accounting official), he married andtogether with his wife and his sister moved to his new place of employment in West Galicia.

Paul Heß was not easily forgotten. In 1799 his friend, the Austrian poet Johann Carl Ungerpublished a collection of dedication poems titled Feierstunden. Wiens Bewohnern gewidmet thatcontains an "Elegie auf den Tod des biedern Künstlers Paul Heß" ("Elegy to the death of thehonest artist Paul Heß").

In Unger's poem (of which the remaining five stanzas are available here) we also learn that PaulHeß was a proficient singer.

I do not know where Constanze Mozart's pearl necklace is today. Regardless of its currentlocation – whether it is lost or held by the Mozarteum – its value increases immensely by theidentification of the creator of its clasp. Only about 100 ivory micro-carvings are known todayworldwide. Most of the Heß brothers' masterpieces are held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum,the British Museum and the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg. The inexplicable mastershipof the art of Sebastian and Paul Heß will never cease to amaze.

First published online on 19 November 2012.

constanze mozart's pearl necklace and the heß brothers

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