A MOTHER-OF-PEARL MODEL OF THE SHRINE OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE

PROBABLY JERUSALEM, 19TH CENTURY

Details

A MOTHER-OF-PEARL MODEL OF THE SHRINE OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE
Probably Jerusalem, 19th Century
Carved in numerous sections; the removable top opening to reveal an elaborately carved interior, minor losses; restorations

Provenance

Almost certainly acquired by John Patrick, 3rd Marquess of Bute (1847-1900), either for Cardiff Castle or Mount Stuart.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
B. Gundestrup, The Royal Danish Kunstkammer 1737, Copenhagen, 1991, II, p. 191.
Mosteiro de S. Vicente de Fora, Encontro de Culturas - Otto Sécolos de Missionaçao Portugesa, Jul.-Dec. 1994, pp. 86-7, no. IV, 22.

Lot Essay

This is related to a number of models of the Church and the Shrine of the Holy Sepulchre which appear to have been produced in Jerusalem itself from at least the second half of the 17th century. A number of examples in wood and mother-of-pearl had royal associations, including one with the arms of Charles II of England and Catherine of Braganza, and another which had entered the Danish Kunstkammer as early as 1674 (Gundestrup, loc. cit.).

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