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Premium Cast, embossed and chiseled silver altar cross. Catalan work…
Cast, embossed and chiseled silver altar cross. Catalan work…
Lot no. 20
Description
Cast, embossed and chiseled silver altar cross. Catalan workshop. Dated in 1631.
With the monogram mark “ARB”, very likely referring to the initials of the maker.
Cross measurements: 44 x 39 cm.
Applique figure dimensions: Christ - 9,5 x 8 cm. Madonna and Child - 13,5 x 4,5 cm.
Attached is the conservation report from I.C.R. (Investigación, Conservación, Restauración de obras de arte) (Research, Conservation, and Restoration of Works of Art), which records its formal characteristics, as well as the hypothesis regarding its authorship and its state of conservation. Due to its validity and consistency, it is here transcribed in full:
'This is an original altar cross, crafted from a sheet of silver in its natural colour, chased and embossed, mounted on a wooden core, and bearing a cast silver figure of Christ.
The cross, with equal arms, displays meticulous workmanship. The shafts terminate in square ends featuring cabochon-like medallions in relief, while their surface is adorned with engraved and chased vegetal scroll motifs and small angel heads at the ends of the cross’s arms. A delicate lace-like ornament runs along the entire edge of the cross, stylistically corresponding to the late forms of the Plateresque style, which in metalwork persisted well into the seventeenth century. The models are reiterated, as there is no abrupt shift between two styles, but rather a slow and gradual evolution.
Fortunately, this piece is dated (on the cabochons: 1631), and the figure of Jesus Christ already conforms to the more Baroque manner of representation. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to consider it a work from the first third of the seventeenth century.
Behind Christ’s head, in the central quadrant of the cross, there is an inscription: ‘ARB’, hand-engraved, not considered a silversmith’s hallmark but the initials of the maker. As no documentation has been found regarding this, it may be deduced—since the work belongs to the Catalan school of the seventeenth century and shows stylistic similarities—that it could be a piece by Agustín Roda, a Valencian silversmith who, together with his father-in-law Eloy Camañes, created the monstrance of Tortosa Cathedral in 1638. However, this hypothesis of authorship cannot be asserted at any point due to the absence of comparative material and the lack of any confirmed identification of the mark.
The cross, now lacking its original base, presents on its reverse, in the central quadrant, the figure of the Virgin and Child standing in the round, also stylistically derived from sixteenth-century models.
The overall state of conservation is good, except for the significant accumulation of salts and efflorescence typical of silver oxidation. A cleaning and protective treatment is recommended to slow the oxidation process, while always respecting the natural patina that the object has acquired over time.
The work possesses a delicacy and elegance characteristic of first-class seventeenth-century metalwork, standing out for the influence of stylistic features developed in colonial silversmithing.'
Provenance:
- Private collection. Mallorca.
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