15th century North Italian Gilt Bronze Pax of the Lamentation

Anonymous, school of Donatello Second half of the 15th century; Northern Italy Approximate size: 13 x 7.6 cm The present relief of the Virgin and Child is largely considered derive...

A 17th century Roman altar cross after Guglielmo della Porta Approximate size: 67 x 27 cm The present altar cross, likely of Italian Roman origin, reprod...

Anonymous (corpus after a model by Giambologna) circa 1700; Netherlandish or Northern Rhinish Ebonized wood, gilt bronze appliques and statuettes, textiles and relics Approximat...

A yellow marine sponge fixed to an antique socle. The yellow marine sponge, or aplysina fistularis, often called the ‘yellow candle sponge,’ is here appr...

AN UNUSUALLY LARGE 16TH CENTURY ITALIAN ETCHING OF THE VISION OF ST. PETER AFTER JACOPO TINTORETTO Anonymous, after Jacopo Tintoretto Italy; 16th century Printed on laid paper with ...

A unique pair of natural standing brain coral obelisks. The bases smoothed for display. The largest of the two specimen is approximately 29 x 11.5 cm.

Paper holder bronze. 16th century. Portapaz made of bronze with a flat handle in "that" on the back that presents a decoration in light relief framed in an architectural composition of classic taste. Under the columns of the sides two heraldic shields are presented; the center shows a Birth of Christ under a winged dome with heads of winged angels in the corners; flanked by two birds, at the top and under a semicircular arch, is the bust of Saint Dominic...

Paper holder bronze, 16th century. Bronze paper holder with a flat curved handle on the back that features a relief decoration organized in the front through an architectural composition with a classical influence usual in the Renaissance. Under the columns on the sides there are two heraldic shields (without bonnet, laces with tassels on three levels) with a Latin cross in the middle zone; the center shows a birth of Christ under a winged dome with heads of winged angels in the corners; at the top and under a semi-circular arch, the bust of Saint Dominic...

Peacekeeper. Bronze. Century XVI. Bronze purse with a handle on the back in the shape of an esse in the same material and a decoration in light relief on the front that shows, unde...

Paper holder bronze, 16th century. Portapaz made of bronze with an "asymmetric" handle on the back, which presents a decoration in light relief framed in an architectural compositio...

Peacekeeper, Mercy. Golden bronze. Possibly Rome, last third of the 16th century-first quarter of the 17th century, following the model of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Gilded bronze pla...

Bronze in its color and gold, lapis lazuli, rock crystal, enamel. In the centre of the work is presented, enthroned, the figure of Mary, with a mantel (fireplace) on her shoulders and hair and holding on her knees the child, who appears addressing one of the angels. The virgin is also sheltered by an ogee arch supported on turned columns, and raised visually by steps. This composition achieves a very striking contrast: the dark bronze figure, in contrast to the lapis lazuli background and the part of the arch and the outside of it, in gilded bronze. Under the steps there is a heraldic enamel shield with a key on an azure background. The angels, kneeling, are flanking this figure, and, appearing in dark bronze, visually share the "category" of religious figures with Mary, while their (lower) position gives more status to both the Mother and Jesus. The rest of the composition is completed with a delicate landscape: constructions and walls on mountains, clouds in the sky, plants, stones, etc. To the outside, another lapis lazuli frame is placed decorated in the corners with appliques, giving way to carved and polychrome wood. The lapis lazuli is a semiprecious stone already known in the seventh millennium BC., found in deposits from the Caucasus to Mauritania. From the end of the middle ages, it increased its export to Europe, its use being more frequent since then both to use it as a pigment in paintings after grinding it (giving rise to the finest and most expensive of the blues, and of the colors in many occasions), as for backgrounds of paintings, incrustations in works of art, jewelry and, a little later, in the well-known "hard stone works". The figure of Mary still shows an influence of Gothic models, although more European than Italian, along with elements that could already show a closeness to the Renaissance: although the nakedness of Jesus is already shown in Gothic works (Madonna with Angels by Fra Angelico ), the creation of space by playing with the cloth in front of Christ can be appreciated in more advanced paintings (Virgin with Child by Domenico Ghirlandaio, National Gallery of London); the presence of a powerful throne can be seen frequently in Italian Madonnas of the Quattrocento (and before), but not quite as presented here. As for the landscape, it is necessary to compare it, for example, with that of the fresco of the Condotiero Guidoriccio de Fogliano (Simone Martini, finished in 1328). This is a work of great technical and aesthetic quality, not to mention the materials chosen for its creation, comparable only to outstanding examples from around the world, such as those preserved in the Palazzo Madama in Torino (Italy), where the coral It also has an important role. It is essential to mention, also, works such as the plate of hard stones (lapis lazuli between them) with a relief of Mary with the Child in...