This exquisite bowl was possibly used by a wealthy women for storing personal accessories. It may have been made in the Moscow Armoury workshops which supplied the Tsar's court, using handles cast from Hamburg silver bowls of around 1650. Silver from the Baltic ports was admired and imported into Russia but the nielloed background, the use of colourful enamel and the addition of the Turkish coin (though it appears this was added later) show the Russian taste for Eastern ornament. The cover is set with cameos of bloodstone, onyx and other materials.
Physical description
Silver bowl decorated with niello and set with cameos, a Turkish coin and enamel, parcel-gilt in bloodstone, onyx and other materials, 6 embossed lobes, floral scrollwork with 2 scroll handles fitting into loops and a circular foot.
Place of Origin
Transylvania, Romania (made)
Date
1720-1739 (made)
Artist/maker
unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Embossed silver decorated with niello, enamel, parcel-gilt in bloodstone and onyx, with scrollwork
Marks and inscriptions
Turkish Coin set in marked AH 1143 (AD 1731)
Dimensions
Height: 10.2 cm, Length: 23.5 cm with handles, Width: 19.9 cm
Object history note
Acquisition RF: 21/4191. Carew Gift.
Note in register says: Compare Hungarian sabre and scabbard (694-1889) and see 'Chef D'Oeuvre d'Orfevrie ... a l'Exposition de Budapest', I, p63
Descriptive line
Covered silver bowl decorated with niello and set with cameos, a Turkish coin and enamel, parcel-gilt in bloodstone, onyx and other materials, Transylvania, 1720-1739
Labels and date
Silver Gallery:
This exquisite bowl was possibly used by a wealthy lady for storing personal accessories. It may have been made in the Moscow Armoury workshops which supplied the Tsar's court, using handles cast from Hamburg silver bowls of around 1650. Silver from the Baltic ports was admired and imported into Russia but the nielloed background, the use of colourful enamel and the addition of the Turkish coin (though it appears this was added later) show the Russian taste for eastern ornament. The cover is set with cameos of bloodstone, onyx and other materials. [26/11/2002]
Production Note
Welby: Perhaps from the Moscow Armoury workshops, the handles cast from Hamburg-made handles?
Materials
Silver; Enamel; Onyx; Bloodstone
Techniques
Gilding; Embossing; Niello
Subjects depicted
Floral patterns; Scrollwork
Categories
Metalwork
Collection code
MET
