SILVER DRINKING CUP . SPAIN, 16TH CENTURY.

Silver wine-tasting cup, 16th century. Cup-shaped wine glasses with plant motifs within a six-pointed star on the bottom and a cylindrical base decorated with circular geometric borders. Also known as wine glasses, these types of drinking glasses were used on special occasions (ceremonies, etc.), hence their material and decoration. They were very common during the reign of the Habsburgs in Spain. Although they were objects for civilian 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 its origin in an artistic center far from the main silversmithing centers. The former, moreover, links more with Gothic art than with the Renaissance, which by this time had already made its presence felt in Spanish silversmithing. Compare, for example, with the bernegal with cartoon-shaped handles in the Prado Museum in Madrid (catalog O00085) from the late 16th century, which features a carved upper part in double concave gadroons and displays plant and fruit engravings in festoons and ribbons. This difference does not detract from the work's value; quite the contrary: it demonstrates the attachment to designs with simple lines and Gothic plant and geometric decorations that prevailed in centers far from the creative capitals, the influence of which 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 16th-century bernegales are preserved in the Fundación Valencia de Don Juan (Madrid), and 17th-century ones are somewhat more abundant, as demonstrated by those in the Lázaro Galdiano Museum (inventory 3910 and 3916).

· Size: 16x16x4 cms.