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Lot Essay
As illustrated in the following portraits of Bálint Balassi and Countess Eszterházy, ornamental breast rosettes were worn by both aristocratic men and women in early modern Hungary. This example, with its religious iconography and its similarity to surviving examples in Church treasuries and depicted in ecclesiastical images, likely belonged to a 17th century Transylvanian Bishop, who would have used it to fasten his pontifical cope.
A closely related work, incorporated into a reliquary, is illustrated in Judit H. Kolba and Annamária T. Németh, Goldsmiths' Work, 1974, pl. XXXI. A similar rosette, in the collection of the Hungarian National Museum (Inv. No. 57.700.C), is illustrated in Judit Kolba and Annamária T. Németh, Treasures of Hungary: Gold and Silver from the 9th to the 19th Century, 1986, fig. 16, p. 26.
A closely related work, incorporated into a reliquary, is illustrated in Judit H. Kolba and Annamária T. Németh, Goldsmiths' Work, 1974, pl. XXXI. A similar rosette, in the collection of the Hungarian National Museum (Inv. No. 57.700.C), is illustrated in Judit Kolba and Annamária T. Németh, Treasures of Hungary: Gold and Silver from the 9th to the 19th Century, 1986, fig. 16, p. 26.