Framed Painting of the Baptism of Christ, on amethyst with gilded backing, Filippo Lauri, Rome, 1623-94.

Oval panel of amethyst painted with a scene of Christ being baptised. The panel, edged with gilt bronze, is inserted into an octagonal ebonised wood frame inlaid with jasper. In the corners of the frame are eight inlaid rosettes of chalcedony and lapis lazuli edged in pewter. The scene depicts Jesus kneeling on a rock in the River Jordan. In front of him stands John the Baptist who holds a staff in his left hand and a shell in his right.

The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Jacques Schumacher, Provenance Curator, 22.10.2021:

The item carrying the Museum number LOAN:GILBERT.70:1, 2-2008 in the past had the Gilbert number MM139, which is what we need to find the relevant records in the Gilbert Archives. Unfortunately, there is no entry for MM139 or for Alberto di Castro, which means that we cannot reconstruct its pre-1972 provenance on the basis of our own records. All objects which may have been in Germany in 1933-45, or a country occupied by Nazi Germany during the war, were checked by me against the Lost Art Database and the database of The Central Registry on Looted Cultural Property 1933-45, both of which contain information on objects that are thought to have been lost as a result of Nazi persecution. There were no matches.

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Provenance: Acquired from Alberto di Castro, Rome, 1972.

Historical significance: Religious paintings were made for ecclesiastical and secular patrons. It is therefore possible that this painting was a commission for a church or baptistery dedicated to St John the Baptist or for a private devotional chapel owned by a person named Giovanni or Giovanni Baptista (John or John the Baptist). Other examples of painting on stone can be seen on the cabinet of Sixtus V at Stourhead, Wiltshire (National Trust).

Filippo Lauri was the son of Baldassar Lauwers of Antwerp (c.1570/76-1645), a talented landscape painter who was a student and follower of Paul Brill. His small paintings of religious and mythological subjects were in the Flemish tradition and were collected for display in small cabinet rooms by Italian and foreign collectors. Lauri lived in the area of the Piazza di Spagna, the principal quarter for foreign artists in Rome. His work was influenced by that of his friends, the celebrated French artists Nicholas Poussin (1600-1682), Claude Lorraine (1594-1665) and Gaspard Dughet (1615-75).

This luxurious piece is painted on amethyst. The stone's varied colours are strategically incorporated into the scene for example, the cloudy amethyst represents the sky. The qualities of the stone and gilded backing add depth and mystery to this important biblical scene of Christ with John the Baptist when the spirit of god appears from the heavens in the form of a dove (Matthew 3:16-17). This is the only known signed work on stone by the artist Filippo Lauri (1623-1924). His initials appear on the rock beneath Christ’s knee.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.

LOAN:GILBERT.70:1, 2-2008