EARLY 16TH CENTURY, POSSIBLY SPANISH OR SPANISH NETHERLANDS, THE FINIAL LATER, APPARENTLY UNMARKED

Details

A SILVER-GILT MOUNTED ROCK CRYSTAL PYX
Early 16th Century, possibly Spanish or Spanish Netherlands, the finial later, apparently unmarked
On corded base with bands of crosses and moulding above, the dodecagonal crystal body with rib and moulded border, the slightly raised crystal cover with similar border carved with swirling flutes and with four applied Gothic foliage sprigs (one missing), the later finial formed as a parcel-gilt figure of the Virgin in prayer
3½ in. (9 cm.) diam.; 5 in. (12.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Sir Julius Wernher, 1st Bt. (1850-1912), Bath House, London, in the Red Room, by whom bequeathed, with a life interest to his widow, Alice, Lady Wernher, subsequently Lady Ludlow (1862-1945), to their son
Sir Harold Wernher, 3rd Bt., G.C.V.O. (1893-1973), Bath House, London, and from 1948, Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire, and by descent.

Literature

Catalogue of the exhibition, Exhibition of Early German Art, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1906, case A, no. 5, pl. XLIII.
1913 Bath House Inventory, p. 35, no. 197, in the Red Room, in the 'large glazed case near door - Right Hand Division'.
1914 Wernher Inventory, p. 36, no. 186.

Exhibited

London, Burlington Fine Arts Club, Exhibition of Early German Art, 1906.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The figure finial appears to be a later casting taken probably from one of the flanking figures on a cross. Although not included in the Spitzer catalogues, an "improvement", such as the substitution of a figure perhaps for a plain crucifix, would be typical of the late-nineteenth-century collector's adaptations.

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