Brass dish decorated with an annunciation scene

Brass, hammered in relief and stamped. In the centre the Annunciation surrounded by an inscription. Flowers stamped around the rim. There is a hook at the back for hanging.

One of a group of basins, dishes and bowls known by collectors as Nuremberg Brass Basins, even though many were made elsewhere.

Gift of Sir Henry Howorth K.C.I.E. through The Art Fund

Gift through the NACF from Sir Henry Howorth, K.C.I.E. Originally a purchase from Percy Webster.

From the Fitzhenry Collection

Brass dishes such as this example were owned by the wealthy “middling classes” and the aristocracy. Although they were produced in large numbers there is evidence to suggest that they were considered important possessions and were sometimes kept as family heirlooms.The brass dish at Lullingstone Castle for example was bought by Dame Elizabeth Bowes and is mentioned in her will of 1588. DAme Elizabeth was the wife of Sir George Hart of Lullingstone. The brass dish depicts "flying harts" around the rim as a reference to the family name. It has been kept as a family heirloom at Lullingstone Castle every since.

Historical significance: This dish was most likely made in Nuremberg. Nuremberg was the leading centre for base metal production in Europe. It was at the peak of its production during the 15th and 16th centuries. Unlike other production centres which were governed by guilds, Nuremberg craftsmanship was governed by the Town Council. The council was made up members of the most powerful Nuremberg families who controlled the standard of craftsmanship within the town. The strictest professions were the trades bound by oath. Craftsmen had to take an oath to follow strict rules of production in order to be able to practice their trade. The Basin Beaters, who made brass dishes and bowls, became an oath bound trade in 1471. Rules included a restriction on the number of apprentices and journeymen each master could have and a regulation that apprentices must be citizens of Nuremberg. This helped to protect the town's production and to ensure that no one craftsman became more powerful than the rest.

The organisation of trade in Nuremberg has evidence of early capitalism. Large trading houses took economic control of trades such as the basin beaters trade. Merchants would give money or materials in advance along with a share of the profits on the understanding that craftsmen would only make for his employer. Thus trading houses took control of every aspect of the trade from raw materials, to manufacture and ultimate sale.

Although Nuremberg was the largest production centre, brass dishes were also made in Dinant and the surrounding area from Bouvingnes to Aachen. They may also have been produced in the Netherlands. The dishes kept the same style and decoration regardless of their origin. From these centres, dishes were sold all over Europe including Spain and England.

Brass dishes with embossed designs were used within the home. Deep dishes like this were probably filled with water to wash one's hands whilst larger shallower plates were most likely used for dining. Although such dishes had a functional purpose, they were primarily used as decorative objects. Contemporary paintings show that they were hung upon the wall or placed upon dressers when not in use. These decorative dishes may have been purchased by wealthy townspeople trying to emulate the European courts, who in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries displayed decorative domestic objects made from precious metals or exotic materials to show off their wealth and splendour. Brass provided a less expensive alternative to the silver and gold displayed in the courts. As all metal was expensive in this period, brass dishes still conveyed wealth and style to guests. Some dishes are inscribed with an ownership mark which shows that these objects were significant possessions.

Dishes with religious or secular scenes survive in particularly large numbers. Popular secular subjects were a stag and a lady with a hawk whilst religious scenes included the Fall of Man, the Annunciation and The Spies with a cluster of grapes.

Narrative scenes, like this one of the Annunciation, were popular upon brass dishes in the 16th century. They added a decorative element to dishes, allowing them to be displayed when not in use. The central Annunciation scene would have been impressed on the metal from behind using punches and stamps which could be used repeatedly as a way of quickly producing dishes in large quantities. The flower pattern along the rim of this dish is stamped onto the metal from the front in a similar way. Artisans used a series of different stamps to vary the design of the bowls. Nuremberg trade regulations stated that all punches and stamps had to be applied by hand. Craftsmen were also required to smelt and cast their own brass.

M.168-1914