A vessel formed by four pieces of rock crystal and a gold mount. Seen from the front, the sides rise parallel to each other, while emerging on one side is a fold that forms the spout. The upper plane of the mouth is cut on a slight inclination, with the lip of the spout at the highest point. On the opposite side, a thick S-shaped handle with carved foliage, mouldings and ova rises above the mouth, while the lower part rests on the back of the body. The foot is joined by a gold mount with incised vegetable decoration to a thick knop decorated with leaves in relief. The engraved decoration consists of spiral patterns on the flange of the foot and a set of volutes with foliage, petals and rows of seeds, with stylised eagles or phoenixes among them, while the area near the lip has two floral sprays and the occasional insect.

Vessel O99 at the Prado, coarser in execution and also decorated with insects, is closely related to this ewer. Both maintain the structural pattern of the lipped pitcher, though they are a long way from the original models and the quality of earlier examples like piece O97 of the Dauphin’s Treasure. There are also vessels at the Louvre, like OA 31, which likewise correspond to the form of the lipped pitcher. The form of the handle has its precedent in a low tazza made by Gasparo Miseroni and preserved in the Museo degli Argenti, Inventario Gemme 1921, no. 501, dating from the second half of the 16th century. The same form is also preserved on vessel MR 277 in the Louvre. Two counterposed Cs, similarly ribbed, form the handles of a ewer at the Louvre, MR 474, which Distelberger attributed to the Milanese workshop of the Miseroni. At the Prado, there are similar handles on vessel O92, and the ribbed volutes appear again on the lower part of the half-woman creatures that form the handles of O93.

The poor quality of the rock crystal, with some black particles in it, indicates that the workshop where this piece was made was not one of the leading ones, or else that this was a more economical product. A strong decline is appreciable in comparison with the great works of the 16th century. The vessel is not cut with the level of subtlety attained by earlier examples, since the sides are rather thick and the polish and finish somewhat coarse and unrefined. The engraving, however, is technically proficient, though the design is poor, which indicates that the intagliatori of the workshop were better than the cristallari.

Original state: Juan Laurent y Minier, “Vase, cristal de roche taillé et gravé avec enchâssures d’argent doré, XVIe siècle, règne de Henri II”, c. 1879. Museo del Prado, HF0835/38 (L. Arbeteta, in press).