(b Ludwigsorget, c. 1556; d Augsburg, 1613). German goldsmith. He was the most outstanding goldsmith in Augsburg of the late 16th century. In 1583 he was licensed to practise as a master goldsmith in Augsburg, an increasingly important centre of goldsmithing (see AUGSBURG, §3(i)). His work represents the period of transition from the late Mannerist to the Baroque styles in goldsmiths’ work from Augsburg, as that of Christoph Jamnitzer (see JAMNITZER, (2)) does in work from Nuremberg. Between 1585 and 1590 Lencker made one of three silver panels for the Reiche Kapelle in the Residenz, Munich: the framed psalm (Munich, Residenz) is held from behind by the statuette of King David. Like Christoph Jamnitzer, Lencker also worked for Emperor Rudolf II and for other German courts. The work that he completed in 1592 that formed part of the tribute to the Turks in that year is known only through documentary evidence. Further proof of Lencker’s ability as a sculptor is the drinking vessel in the shape of a standard-bearer (Vienna, Ksthist. Mus.) that bears the initials of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, Count of Tyrol (reg 1564–95), and was listed in 1596 in the inventory of Schloss Ambras, Innsbruck. In the same year Lencker was commissioned by Duke William V of Bavaria to make a silver altar for the church of the Holy Cross, Augsburg.

• Lencker, Christoph
  • Augsburg, §3(i): Centre of metalwork production
  • collaboration
    • Walbaum, Matthias
  • patrons and collectors
    • Czech Republic, §VIII, 1(ii): Gold and silver, 16th century–early 17th
    • Greifen: (1) Philip
  • works
    • Plaquette, §3(ii): Northern Europe