Nautilus goblets were produced in Europe during the Renaissance and Baroque periods for princely art cabinets, where they served primarily to represent the wealth and worldliness of their owners. The special feature of these goblets is their bowl (cuppa) made from the shell of a nautilus, which came to Europe via sea trade, mainly from the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

A figure (Atlas) carrying the bowl of shimmering white mother-of-pearl on its shoulders forms the shaft of this goblet. He is masterfully crafted from ebony, has a head crowned with stylized reeds and wears an ivory loincloth adorned with a small turquoise feather ornament. The work embodies European conceptions of the indigenous peoples of North and South America typical for that time. Two fish-like mythical creatures surround the figure. A wooden crocodile lies over the bowl. The composition suggests that it could be “America”—an allegory for one of the only four known continents for a long time. In numerous works of art of that time, the continental allegories illustrate the hierarchical relationship that Europe established in the eighteenth century between itself as the supposed center of the world and Asia, Africa, and America.

This nautilus goblet bears Elias Adam’s master’s mark: “EA.” Next to it is the Augsburg city mark, which can be dated to the time after the silversmith’s death in 1745. The silver work was therefore probably created posthumously in his workshop, which continued to use his master’s mark. Because the stylistic elements of the gilt silver mounting (vermeil) in the form of shells (rocaille) and foliage are characteristic of his son Johann Jakob Adam’s work, it is reasonable to assume that he made the piece in his deceased father’s workshop and added his father’s mark before becoming a master himself in 1748.