Dish
ca. 1550 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
This Spanish dish would have been made for display. Around the rim are eight medallions with portrait heads. They depict Mars, the Roman god of war, and Roman emperors and empresses: Agrippina, Claudius I, Titus, Sabina, Livia, Augustus and Faustina the Younger. The central medallion with the crest of the Davalos or Nuevalos family (formerly enamelled) has been punctured with a hole, suggesting that a later family personalised the centre with their own coat of arms which has since been removed.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Silver-gilt, enamel, chased and embossed |
Brief description | Spain. Toledo. Mark of Juan Franci. About 1550; Silver, Continental |
Physical description | Circular, rim decorated with eight embossed panels with chased masks and strapwork alternating with medallions with heads copied from Roman coins. Boss set with a medallion charged with a coat-of-arms (probably once enamelled). |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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Gallery label | Silver Gallery:
Along the rim are eight medallions with portrait heads showing the God Mars and Roman Emperors and Empresses. Agrippina, Claudius I, Titus, Sabina, Livia, Augustus and Faustina the Younger. The hole perforating the central medallion, with the once enamelled crest of the Davalos or Nuevalos family, suggests that a later family personalised the centre with their coat of arms which has since been removed.(26/11/2002) |
Credit line | Dr W.L. Hildburgh Bequest |
Object history | Acquisition RF: 55/4478A Dr WL Hildburgh FSA Bequest A hole has been pierced through the medallion shattering the enamelled tinctures. The arms are a triple-turreted tower within a bordure componee argent and gules. These might be the arms of Davolos or of Nuevalos. Possibly a ewer originally sat over the central roundel. The hole in the middle suggests a later roundel was added which is now lost (the enamel is abraded). |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | This Spanish dish would have been made for display. Around the rim are eight medallions with portrait heads. They depict Mars, the Roman god of war, and Roman emperors and empresses: Agrippina, Claudius I, Titus, Sabina, Livia, Augustus and Faustina the Younger. The central medallion with the crest of the Davalos or Nuevalos family (formerly enamelled) has been punctured with a hole, suggesting that a later family personalised the centre with their own coat of arms which has since been removed. |
Bibliographic reference | The Golden Age of Hispanic Silver 1400-1665, Charles Oman, Pg.63, pl.80, HMSO, 1968 |
Collection | |
Accession number | M.379-1956 |
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Record created | February 9, 2004 |
Record URL |
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