Dish thumbnail 1
Dish thumbnail 2
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images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Silver, Room 69, The Whiteley Galleries

Dish

early 16th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Oporto (made)

This silver dish is embossed with scenes from the siege of Troy. It shows the Trojan commander Hector and the Greek hero Achilles in combat, with the city to the left. Dated to between 1500 and 1520, the dish is attributed to Oporto on the basis of the central medallion of the arms of the Pintos da Cunha family, added in the 17th century.


Object details

Categories
Access_to_Images 2003
Metalwork
SCRAN
Object type
Dish
Materials and techniques
Silver, parcel-gilt, embossed, chased and engraved
Silver
Gold
Parcel-Gilding
Embossing
Chasing
Engraving
Brief description
Dish, silver, gilt-embossed, decorated with scenes from the batle of Troy, Portugal, early 16th century.
Physical description
Dish, siver, parcel-gilt, embossed, chased, engraved; embossed with scenes from the siege of Troy, among which, it shows the Trojan commander Hector and the Greek hero achilles in combat; central medallion with the arms of the Pintos Da Cunha family.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 30.1cm
  • Depth: 5.4cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Engraved with the arms of Pinto e Cunha
  • Unmarked
Gallery label
Silver Gallery: Classical war scenes, such as here the Siege of Troy, were often depicted to commemorate contemporary battles. The town scene is Arzila on the coast of Morocco captured by the Portuguese in 1471. Such elaborate decoration suggests this dish was meant for display, rather than for practical use. Even the invisible foot has an ornately pierced frieze. During the period of King Manuel I (1495-1521) figurative dishes were popular. The crest in the centre is of the 17th-century Pintos da Cunha family.(26/11/2002)
Object history
Dateable to between 1500 and 1520, it is attributed to Oporto on the basis of the central medallion with the arms of the Pintos da Cunha family, added in the seventeenth century.
Production
Maker unidentified
Subjects depicted
Battle
City
Ships
Horses
Soldiers
Weapons
Medallion
Achilles
Hector
Place depicted
Troy
Summary
This silver dish is embossed with scenes from the siege of Troy. It shows the Trojan commander Hector and the Greek hero Achilles in combat, with the city to the left. Dated to between 1500 and 1520, the dish is attributed to Oporto on the basis of the central medallion of the arms of the Pintos da Cunha family, added in the 17th century.
Bibliographic references
  • Baker, Malcolm, and Brenda Richardson (eds.), A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V&A Publications, 1999.
  • Oman, Charles. The Golden Age of Hispanic Silver 1400-1665. HMSO, 1968.
  • Glanville, Philippa. ed. Silver. London : V&A, 1996.
  • Kennedy, Kirstin. Catalogue entry. In: Lords of the Ocean. Treasures of the Portuguese Empire in the 16th - 18th centuries, ed. by Yulia Buzykina and Vladimir Tauber. Catalogue of the exhibition held at the Moscow Kremlin Museums, Moscow, 5 December 2017 - 25 February 2018. Moscow, 2017. ISBN 978-5-88678-316-2
  • Villing, Alexandra, Fitton J. Lesley, Donnellan, Victoria, and Shapland, Andrew (eds). Troy: Myth and Reality. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd and British Museum. 2019. ISBN: 978-0-500-48058-8.
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
M.2-1938

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Record createdNovember 25, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O86257/dish-unknown/
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