SILVER AND GILT SILVER PYX. 16TH CENTURY.
Antiques - Miscellaneous / Silver Works
Reference: ZA5725
Cast and chased silver pyx. Spain, towards the end of the 16th century. Cylindrical box with a moulded base under a wide frieze with latticework of bands and simplified plant elements. Moulded lid decorated with bands creating figures of 8 alternating with flowers and fleur-de-lis motifs, topped with a small cone with pearl, on which stands a three-nailed Crucifix with a loincloth around the knees and a cartouche. Given the gilding on the interior, this stemless host was perhaps used to contain the Holy Hosts in the tabernacle of some church. The decorative elements of the work and the figure of Christ in the upper part respond to the influence of the Renaissance, but also show Gothic memories. The Renaissance appeared in Castilian silverwork a little before 1520, and it was only from the end of the reign of Philip III that we usually speak of Baroque. In the Crown of Aragon, the political and economic decline of the area caused a significant decline in the number and quality of production, with the notable exception of Aragon and, above all, Zaragoza, which reached unequalled splendour later on. The same thing happens with the form: although there are similar examples during the Gothic period (a hostiary by Diego de Abanza or one of his sons, made in Burgos towards the end of the 15th century and preserved in the Diocesan Museum of Sigüenza, Guadalajara), this typology would continue even in the Baroque with numerous variations. Compare this with works such as a hostiary in the Museum of Malaga (BA/CE00305), with a similar cover and decoration, or, above all, with the one in the Ángel Quílez collection (inventory CAQ-47) of the future Museum of Alcáñiz (Teruel), with a similar profile and decoration, both from the end of the 16th century. And note the difference with, for example, the Castilian from the last third of the century preserved in the National Museum of Decorative Arts (CE19659) or that of Juan de Bendígar from the Lázaro Galdiano Museum (inventory 02165) from the second third of the century, with greater Renaissance influence. Weight: 176 gr.
· Size: 10x10x9,5 cms.
1.600 €
