Not on display

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.

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 createdJanuary 30, 2004
Record URL
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