LATE 16TH CENTURY, APPARENTLY UNMARKED

Details

A SPANISH PARCEL-GILT PENDANT BOX AND COVER
Late 16th Century, apparently unmarked
Hexagonal, the applied openwork base with central boss, the sides applied with silver-gilt cherubs holding Instruments of the Passion, the applied columns between cast with demi-figures, the sides with scroll brackets linked to suspension chain, the detachable cover with applied shells at intervals and surmounted by a cockerel finial rising from openwork foliage
3½ in. (9 cm.) high; 5½ in. (14 cm.) overall with chain
Weight 3 oz. (108 gr.)

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

1913 Bath House Inventory, p. 47, no. 253, in the Red Room, in the 'showcase to the right of the fireplace'.

Exhibited

Bedford, Cecil Higgins Museum, 1959-60.

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

It is possible, given the subject of the decoration, that this box was designed as a small pendant container for a relic connected with the Passion. The shells and cockerel on the cover are emblematic of Saint James of Compostela and Saint Peter respectively.

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