Reliquary containing Dead Sea apples, made in Venice, about 1500-30, painted enamels and gilding on copper

Reliquary containing Dead Sea apples, made in Venice, about 1500-30, painted enamels and gilding on copper. Columns of gilt metal. Detachable domed top or cover surmounted by a gilt metal cross. The top and the lower part of the foot are decorated with gilt fleurs-de-lys on a ground of dark blue enamel. The knop and the moulding below the cylinder are gilded with formal foliage on a white ground and decorated with enamel 'beading' in red, green and blue translucent enamel. The upper part of the foot is gilded with scale pattern on a dark green ground.

Bequeathed by Lady Zouche

From 19th April 1876, this reliquary, described as 'Italian 15th-16th century' was on loan to the Museum from Lord Zouche. This was Robert Nathaniel Cecil George Curzon, 15th Baron Zouche (of Haryngworth) (1851–1915), son of 14th Baron. It was bequeathed to the Museum by Darea Curzon, 16th Baroness Zouche (1860–1917) sister of 15th Baron. A copy of the relevant extract from the will of the late Baroness Zouche says: 'I bequeath to the trustees of the Victoria & Albert Museum for the purpose of such museum any articles belonging to me lent to the museum and deposited there at the time of my death'.

The technique of painting in enamels on copper was developed during the 15th century, and by the end of the century, Venice had developed its own characteristic style. Vessels were made of thin copper (1-2 mm), usually of a lobed or gadrooned form, and coated with a layer of milky white enamel. The intense, almost translucent colours applied over this ground included dark blue, emerald green and deep red, with some areas left white for contrast. Finally, the surface was decorated with dense patterns of tiny gold stars, commas, flowers, and leafy scrolls.

Venetian enamel-workers may have been influenced by lustre ceramics from Valencia, which were imported to Italy in large quantities between the 14th and 16th centuries. These Spanish wares made use of dense, geometric and foliate patterns, shimmering in lustre on a white ground. They also imitated metalwork effects such as gadrooning, so their decorative motifs could be adapted relatively directly for use on metal dishes such as this. Similar ribbed and gadrooned forms were also employed in Murano cups of the period, made from enamelled white glass, which could also have been an influence on Venetian enamel-workers. The fluting of the glass was derived from Byzantine models, and ultimately from Near Eastern mould-blown glass. The use of continuous patterns of gold scrollwork to cover all surfaces of the object may also have come from Middle Eastern design. Venice had close connections with the Islamic world in the Renaissance, and inlaid metalwork covered in foliate arabesque patterns was imported to the city from the Middle East.

Comparative pieces are in the collections of the Museo civico d’arte antica, Turin; the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, inv. no. 44-171; and one was in the Pierre Berge / Yves Saint Laurent sale.

This type of ornamental enamel work was fashionable in Venice during the late 15th and 16th century and was applied to vessels intended for both secular and liturgical use. This reliquary was made for use in a religious context. The original contents of the reliquary are not known, but its former owner, Lord Zouche, put the 'Dead Sea Apples' he brought back from the Holy Land in it himself.

C.1011 to B-1917