Dish
1555-1557 (designed and made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
The centre of this dish is engraved with the coat of arms of Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice. This suggests that he probably commissioned it directly. It was made in Sibenik on te Dalmatian coast, now part of Croatis, in the mid 16th century it was part of the Venetial Empire. Venice at a time was a flourishing centre for the production of brass dishes. Like this example, they were very elaborately decorated but not with traditional European linear ornamentation. The decoration was influenced by the goods Venetian merchants brought back to the city from the Turkish and Arab empires that bordered the Mediterranean.
Here you can see the deep, bold engraved decoration is inlaid with silver wire. This technique is known as damascening and was a speciality of the Venetian Muslim community, who produced many splendid damascened brass vessels, some of which are signed in Arabic by their makers.
Here you can see the deep, bold engraved decoration is inlaid with silver wire. This technique is known as damascening and was a speciality of the Venetian Muslim community, who produced many splendid damascened brass vessels, some of which are signed in Arabic by their makers.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Brass, engraved and inlaid with pitch. |
Brief description | Brass dish decorated with portraits of Roman heroes and the arms of Foscari of Venice, Venetian, early 16th century |
Physical description | In the centre is an oval shield with the Foscari arms (per fess the chief party and in the dexter quarter a lion of St. Mark), surrounded by a double wreath. The rest of the bottom is taken up with a battle between two lots of horsemen fighting under banners bearing SPQR and PON respectively. The rim is engraved with arabesques, separated by busts of heroes, who have the initials AM, GC and OF. |
Dimensions |
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Style | |
Production type | Unique |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Credit line | Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh FSA |
Object history | Acquired from the Cook Collection for the sum of £10 donated by Walter Leo Hildburgh. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | The centre of this dish is engraved with the coat of arms of Francesco Foscari, Doge of Venice. This suggests that he probably commissioned it directly. It was made in Sibenik on te Dalmatian coast, now part of Croatis, in the mid 16th century it was part of the Venetial Empire. Venice at a time was a flourishing centre for the production of brass dishes. Like this example, they were very elaborately decorated but not with traditional European linear ornamentation. The decoration was influenced by the goods Venetian merchants brought back to the city from the Turkish and Arab empires that bordered the Mediterranean. Here you can see the deep, bold engraved decoration is inlaid with silver wire. This technique is known as damascening and was a speciality of the Venetian Muslim community, who produced many splendid damascened brass vessels, some of which are signed in Arabic by their makers. |
Collection | |
Accession number | M.163-1951 |
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Record created | December 17, 2003 |
Record URL |
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