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Vase and cover
Unknown - Enlarge image
Vase and cover
- Place of origin:
Italy (made)
- Date:
16th century (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Copper, silvered and repoussé
- Museum number:
424-1892
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This vase and cover are made of copper covered in a thin layer of silver, which would have been cheaper than solid silver. Although less prestigious than silver, copper did to some extent compete with it. Copper was very malleable and metalworkers could decorate it using the sophisticated decorative techniques seen on silverware.
In the period 1500-1600 Italian metalworkers decorated copperwares with the kind of rich decoration you can see on this piece. The decoration usually covered the whole surface and included animals, birds and floral scrolls that were part of the Mannerist style that emerged in Northern Italy from about the 1520s.
Here the metalworker has used the repoussé technique, which involves working
from the back or underside of the metal to create the decoration in relief.
