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Dish thumbnail 2
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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.


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
  • Across front of dish. diameter: 47.5cm
  • Back to rim of dish depth: 6cm
Style
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • S.P.Q.R.
    Translation
    Senatus Populusque Romanus (The Senate and People of Rome).
  • PON (An abbreviation for Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, (Pompey the Great), a leading Roman general and statesman whose career was significant in Rome's transformation from a republic to an empire.)
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 createdDecember 17, 2003
Record URL
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