Holy Water Bucket
late 15th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This brass bucket with a single hoop handle held the purifying Holy Water for use during baptisms and other church services. It would have been accompanied by an ‘aspergillum’ or sprinkler.
It was made in Venice and has the distinctive type of decoration associated with the city. This was influenced by the objects brought to the city by Venetian merchants trading with the Turkish and Arab empires that bordered the Mediterranean.
Venetian brasswork was almost always engraved and often inlaid with silver wire (now missing on this example). The decoration was extensive, often covering the entire surface of an object. It featured the arabesque pattern, seen here, based on a stylised plant with a winding stem. Contemporary Italian artists studied and copied the pattern and by about the 1550s, the arabesque as a form of ornament was beginning to influence designers and craftsmen all over Europe.
It was made in Venice and has the distinctive type of decoration associated with the city. This was influenced by the objects brought to the city by Venetian merchants trading with the Turkish and Arab empires that bordered the Mediterranean.
Venetian brasswork was almost always engraved and often inlaid with silver wire (now missing on this example). The decoration was extensive, often covering the entire surface of an object. It featured the arabesque pattern, seen here, based on a stylised plant with a winding stem. Contemporary Italian artists studied and copied the pattern and by about the 1550s, the arabesque as a form of ornament was beginning to influence designers and craftsmen all over Europe.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Brass, formerly inlaid with silver |
| Brief description | Brass holy water bucker with two medallions on the side containing a coat of arms and arabesques, Venetian, late 15th century |
| Physical description | Gourd-shaped bucket with a swing handle decorated with a scale pattern. The side is engraved with two circular medallions each with a coat of arms (party per fess, the upper part argent), and interlacing arabesques, formerly inlaid with silver. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Credit line | Given by Dr W L Hildburgh, FSA |
| Production | probably by a Muslim craftsman |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This brass bucket with a single hoop handle held the purifying Holy Water for use during baptisms and other church services. It would have been accompanied by an ‘aspergillum’ or sprinkler. It was made in Venice and has the distinctive type of decoration associated with the city. This was influenced by the objects brought to the city by Venetian merchants trading with the Turkish and Arab empires that bordered the Mediterranean. Venetian brasswork was almost always engraved and often inlaid with silver wire (now missing on this example). The decoration was extensive, often covering the entire surface of an object. It featured the arabesque pattern, seen here, based on a stylised plant with a winding stem. Contemporary Italian artists studied and copied the pattern and by about the 1550s, the arabesque as a form of ornament was beginning to influence designers and craftsmen all over Europe. |
| Bibliographic reference | Sylvia Auld, Renaissance Venice, Islam and Mahmud the Kurd. A metalworking enigma, 2004, no.7.23, p.284. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.3-1946 |
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| Record created | March 10, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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