SILVER DRINKING CUP . SPAIN, 16TH CENTURY.
Antiques - Miscellaneous / Silver Works
Reference: Z6296
Silver wine tasting bowl, 16th century. “Cup” type wine glasses with plant motifs inside a six-pointed star at the bottom and with a cylindrical base decorated with circular geometric borders. Also known as wine glasses, this type of drinking glass was used on special occasions (ceremonies, etc.), hence the material and decoration they were made of, and they were very common during the reign of the Austrians in Spain. Although they were objects for civil use, it was not unusual for them to be donated or commissioned for use in churches or liturgical settings. Both the decoration and the shape of the cup show that it came from an artistic centre far from the main silver centres. The former, moreover, is more closely linked to Gothic art than to the Renaissance, which by this time had already made its presence felt in Spanish silverwork. Compare, for example, with the bernegal with cardboard-shaped handles from the Prado Museum in Madrid (catalogue O00085) from the end of the 16th century, which has the upper part carved in double concave scallops and shows plant and fruit engravings in festoons and ribbons. This difference does not detract from the value of the work, quite the contrary: it is proof of the attachment to designs with simple lines and Gothic plant and geometric decorations that existed in centres far from the creative capitals, whose influence can even be seen in Baroque works. Similar examples can be found in very few private collections and only in a few important museums. For example, similar bernegales from the 16th century are preserved in the Fundación Valencia de Don Juan (Madrid), and those from the 17th century are somewhat more abundant, as shown by those in the Lázaro Galdiano Museum (inventory 3910 and 3916).
· Size: 16x16x4 cms.
3.200 €
