Vessel similar to O38, except that the cover is missing. The precious stones on the jasper ring are complete, and the remaining cameos consist of a Roman-style bust of a crowned man and a woman’s head by the same maker, both of cornelian; another head, perhaps Hercules, in chalcedony; and a male bust crowned with laurel, with another female bust in the background, of agate, similar to a cameo preserved at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. No hallmarks.

This vessel and its pair, O38, are made in an unusual way, since they were not intended to be displayed when open. They are fashioned in silver and gold with the centre, the only part actually made of stone, left visible, for as stated in the inventory of the Dauphin’s Treasure drawn up in La Granja de San Ildefonso in 1746, the vessel consists of a piece of jasper with a quadrilobulate section while the rest of the cup is made of metal, producing the optical effect of an overlay when there is in fact nothing underneath. The design is very close to some by Jean Bérain the Elder (1640-1711), since a project for a credenza with several vessels that has been attributed to him includes some with similar forms and proportions.

The very rich decoration conforms to the tastes of the Paris school, belonging to the feuillages style produced during the reign of Louis XIV. The collection at the Prado contains numerous examples of this tendency, some enriched with cameos and others with simple mounts, but the technique is always the same: thin overlays in slight relief that are enamelled in opaque white with the ends in pink. The nerves of the leaves and the volumes of the petals are rendered with touches of black, and the corollas are sometimes enamelled in the same tone as the ribbons, following the designs made fashionable by Bérain. All the small elements are fitted onto a finely pierced surface forming a grid, which can sometimes alternate with smooth areas. Although inspired by classical forms, the exuberant richness and polychromy of these vessels make for a very personal style.

The O38 is reproduced in: Juan Laurent y Minier, "Vase agate sardoine, montures d’or avec émaux et pierreries, XVIe siècle, règne de Henri II", c. 1879, Museo del Prado, HF0835/3 (L. Arbeteta, in press).