Cistern
16th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This copper cistern would have hung in an alcove in a dining area. It was suspended so that it could have been tilted to release the water it held through the brass tap for washing. The piece was made in Italy between 1500 and 1600 during the period when Italian metalworkers decorated copperwares with rich ornament that usually covered the whole surface.
Copper was sufficiently malleable to be decorated using sophisticated silversmithing techniques. Here the metalworker has used a technique known as chasing, which involves skilfully hammering the surface to displace the metal into a decorative pattern. The motifs, such as the scrolling foliage on this piece, are characteristic of the Mannerist style that emerged in Northern Italy in the 1520s.
Copper was sufficiently malleable to be decorated using sophisticated silversmithing techniques. Here the metalworker has used a technique known as chasing, which involves skilfully hammering the surface to displace the metal into a decorative pattern. The motifs, such as the scrolling foliage on this piece, are characteristic of the Mannerist style that emerged in Northern Italy in the 1520s.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Copper, embossed, with brass tap |
| Brief description | Copper cistern with brass tap, decorated with foliage and a merchant's mark with the initials GBA |
| Physical description | Round with slightly bulbous side and domed top with spreading lip and swing handle. It is decorated with foliage and a merchant's mark including the initials GBA. |
| Marks and inscriptions | The merchants' mark GBA |
| Credit line | Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh FSA |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This copper cistern would have hung in an alcove in a dining area. It was suspended so that it could have been tilted to release the water it held through the brass tap for washing. The piece was made in Italy between 1500 and 1600 during the period when Italian metalworkers decorated copperwares with rich ornament that usually covered the whole surface. Copper was sufficiently malleable to be decorated using sophisticated silversmithing techniques. Here the metalworker has used a technique known as chasing, which involves skilfully hammering the surface to displace the metal into a decorative pattern. The motifs, such as the scrolling foliage on this piece, are characteristic of the Mannerist style that emerged in Northern Italy in the 1520s. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.47-1930 |
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| Record created | January 30, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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