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The monumental dimensions of the bronze head, compatible with a statue approximately 3.5 m high, as well as its individualized features suggests a portrait rather than a mythological image. Schröder (1993) explained in detail that the bronze is an original Greek work datable between 310 and 290 BC. In stylistic terms it is notably similar to the marble head of Lysimachos (?) in Ephesos (Smith
This sort of English painted enamel object was first made around 1725, but little is known of the early production, in part because this was a very modest craft. It reached its zenith between 1753 and 1756, when such pieces were manufactured by a London firm in Battersea that even employed decorative artists from the nearby Chelsea porcelain factory. This firm declared bankruptcy in 1756 and its m
Normalmente, bajo el nombre de cajas de rapé son englobadas todas las series de cajitas primorosamente trabajadas en metal, porcelana u otra materia, que se fabricaron sobre todo durante el siglo XVIII, pero que en realidad estaban destinadas a muy diversos usos, como polvoreras, estuches para diversos afeites, para lunares, tan de moda durante los siglos XVII y XVIII, bomboneras y otros mil emple
Este portapaz y su pareja (O3394) en origen servían para ser besados durante la celebración de la Misa. Inicialmente, ambos tenían como efigie en la calle central un tema religioso, en este caso la representación de dos santos identificados en las cartelas inferiores como San Hipólito mártir y Santa Concordia. Las dos placas ovales quedan enmarcadas por una sencilla estructura arquitectónica en fo
In this medallion and his partner (O3392) the idealised king and queen are depicted according to the conventions of painted portraits, their faces in half-profile against a plain background with a large curtain. Charles II wears armour and the emblem of the Golden Fleece. Maria Anna, his second wife whom he married by proxy in 1689, wears an ornate, low-necked bodice with a jewelled brooch and the
A vessel made up of six pieces of rock crystal and six gold mounts enamelled in opaque white and translucent red. The ovate body is decorated with helicoidal gadroons and darts on the base, and the same motif, smaller and turning in the opposite direction, alongside the neck. From the belly there emerges a structure with a spout surrounded by a mount. The short broad neck is enbellished by a mount
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,
This footed tray is a presentation salver that forms a pair with O-60 of the Dauphin’s Treasure. Both are made from a single piece of lapis lazuli. It has a round, flat-bottomed bowl, low sides and a short turned stem resting on a small foot. A silver mount runs around the rim. Its profile, simple as it is, points to a work made in Milan, perhaps close to the Miseroni. It bears the hallmark, IR, o
The vessel, similar to O44, is formed by three fragments of agate and five enamelled gold mounts. The body is an ancient piece of stone with a broad gold mount on the edge decorated with an enamelled pattern of white and black foliage linked by festoons of blue ribbons. Resting on this is an eagle’s head in black and white enamel, with a gold beak and two rubies for eyes. A thick knop supports the
An ovate vessel in the form of an urn. It has a smooth pyriform body with a double moulding on the shoulder, a neck with a concave profile, and a round mouth. The moulded cover has the form of a cupola, while the short bell-shaped stem ends in a round foot with the same diameter as the mouth. The stone, cracked since ancient times, is held by a mount of pierced and chased gold forming a net, with
A vessel formed by a large and voluminous body in the shape of a ship’s hull, a small unadorned foot and a stem with a knop, a spout at the prow, balusters, and a kind of forecastle, somewhat damaged. The handles on the side have the form of winged serpents with dragons’ heads, female breasts and bodies ending in console legs, and there is a larger one at the stern, simulating the rudder. Thirteen
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 pres
A jug comprising various pieces of crystal and six adornments in gilded silver. The glass case of a reliquary, possibly Rhenish, has been used for the body, to which a base has been added, decorated with swirling flutes, all joined together with a late mannerist adornment, in a style that some specialists associate with the circle of the silversmith François I Roberday.Owing to its great va
An oval salver or tray made up of seven pieces of rock crystal, identical in structure to O104. There are variations in the decorative composition, the work of the same Milanese workshop, recognisable by the flowers on the ends of the central spiral patterns. On this piece, however, the clearly Baroque decoration has, to borrow Arbeteta’s phrase, burst its banks. Moreover, the gentle curve of the
A tall-footed cup whose bowl has the form of a ship’s hull with a pointed prow and a slightly raised stern, while below are a balustroid stem and a tortoise for a foot, all formed by three pieces of rock crystal joined by two enamelled gold mounts. The decoration of the bowl is extremely fine, and may have had a political significance. The mount on the foot was stolen in 1918. Where its authorship
Vessel made up of two pieces of hardstone and three enamelled gold mounts. The larger piece forms the deep boat-shaped bowl, with the front raised, leaves on the rim, and a volute at the rear. A high S-shaped handle curves above the mouth and is connected to the body with a rectangular brooch-like appliqué. The bowl is joined with ring mounts to the short moulded stem, which ends in a flat
Vessel made up of three pieces of agate and six enamelled gold mounts. The boat-shaped bowl is decorated externally with a carved band of interlaced ovals separated by five-pointed fleurons. Running around the lip is a smooth gold mount, enamelled on the interior, with overlaid adornments of green leaves and white berries with incrustations of rubies and emeralds. At the stern is a Cupid enamelled
Oval salver made up of seven pieces of rock crystal joined by a silver mount. The body consists of a moulded silver gilt oval piece with an oblong slot for the foot. The engraved decoration is at the ends, leaving the central areas almost unadorned. It consists of a series of spirals ending in seeds that mark the rhythms of the composition, and four flowers or rosettes at the ends of the pattern.
