Dish thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Dish

16th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

By the early 16th century, brass dishes became greater in diameter, the depressions shallower and the flanges of the rims correspondingly wider. Pictorial themes continued to be used in decoration but the wider bases afforded scope for an increasing use of abstract decoration. A central motif might be bounded by one or two concentric bands of decoration of either interlaced scroll-like waves or lettering. This was not necessarily embossed with punches in the traditional manner but was often cast in the mould at an earlier stage in manufacturer.

The subject depicted is the legend of St George and the dragon. St George was a legendary warrior, saint and martyr and is the patron saint of several European cities including Genoa and Venice. To the early Christians, a dragon symbolised evil and in particular, paganism. St George was said to have fought a dragon by the seashore, outside the walls of a city, in order to rescue the king’s daughter who was being offered as a sacrifice. St George, dressed in armour and mounted on a horse, brandishes his sword. His lance lies already broken on the ground and one piece may be piercing the monster’s neck. The dragon is typically winged and scaly, often with a forked tongue and tapering tail.

The production of brass bowls was centred in Nuremberg, from where this dish may have originated, though it was not the only place to produce brass pieces of this sort. Other centres of brass production were Dinant in Flanders and its surrounding area, from Bouvignes to Aachen. Techniques and styles were copied with equal facility everywhere so that today it is difficult to assign a place of manufacture within northern Europe to any dish produced during the 16th and 17th centuries.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Brass, hammered
Brief description
Brass dish depicting St George and the Dragon, surrounded by a border of leaves, German, 16th century
Physical description
Circular, with curved side slightly gadrooned; a boder of stamped leaves surrounds the central device, which depicts St George and the Dragon.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 9.3in
  • Height: 2.4in
Content description
One of a group of basins, dishes and bowls known by collectors as Nuremberg Brass Basins, even though many were made elsewhere.
Credit line
Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh FSA
Subjects depicted
Summary
By the early 16th century, brass dishes became greater in diameter, the depressions shallower and the flanges of the rims correspondingly wider. Pictorial themes continued to be used in decoration but the wider bases afforded scope for an increasing use of abstract decoration. A central motif might be bounded by one or two concentric bands of decoration of either interlaced scroll-like waves or lettering. This was not necessarily embossed with punches in the traditional manner but was often cast in the mould at an earlier stage in manufacturer.

The subject depicted is the legend of St George and the dragon. St George was a legendary warrior, saint and martyr and is the patron saint of several European cities including Genoa and Venice. To the early Christians, a dragon symbolised evil and in particular, paganism. St George was said to have fought a dragon by the seashore, outside the walls of a city, in order to rescue the king’s daughter who was being offered as a sacrifice. St George, dressed in armour and mounted on a horse, brandishes his sword. His lance lies already broken on the ground and one piece may be piercing the monster’s neck. The dragon is typically winged and scaly, often with a forked tongue and tapering tail.

The production of brass bowls was centred in Nuremberg, from where this dish may have originated, though it was not the only place to produce brass pieces of this sort. Other centres of brass production were Dinant in Flanders and its surrounding area, from Bouvignes to Aachen. Techniques and styles were copied with equal facility everywhere so that today it is difficult to assign a place of manufacture within northern Europe to any dish produced during the 16th and 17th centuries.
Collection
Accession number
M.378-1912

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Record createdFebruary 20, 2004
Record URL
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