작품 상세

Peruvian or New Spain viceregal school. 18th century. “Silver pyx or portaticum with large mother-of-pearl shell engraved with a religious scene of Glory, jewelry box or desk box.” 19,5 x 17,5 x 5,5 cm. Total weight: 1120 g. Silver and engraved mother-of-pearl lid. No apparent marks on the silver, or none visible. Exquisite, elegant, and interesting silver box with rounded sides, silver structure, and lid engraved with a religious scene from La Gloria. Given this external religious symbolism, we could think and determine that it is a pyx or portaviaticum, which is more than just a simple container; it is a sacred vessel that houses the very essence of devotion. With its undeniable artisanal beauty, and as a tangible expression of the faith of the goldsmith or the taste of the person who commissioned the piece, it is carefully crafted to become a “safe and reverent place” for forms, whether consecrated or not. However, despite its external religious symbolism, it could also be a gift inspired by faith (due to its lid) as a desk or dressing table jewelry box, to hold religious objects such as crosses, rosaries, scapulars, etc., or for women's jewelry or valuable items such as coins, precious stones, etc. And what is the symbolic richness contained in the radiant scene engraved on the lid? Glory, brought closer to this lid, for earthly devotion. Above and in the center, Glory is presided over and centered by the Holy Trinity. And to its left, as we look at it, is the intercessor par excellence: the Virgin, Mother of God. The Virgin's precedence over the other characters is manifested compositionally as she is the only figure walking toward the Trinity and contemplating them closely and expectantly. From left to right, we recognize figures from the Old and New Testaments, saints of the Church, and members of religious orders, especially Franciscans, from which we deduce that they are the ones who commissioned the box, or that their spirituality is to the liking of the person who made or commissioned the work. In front of a group of apostles, priests, and faithful are Saint Peter (keys) and Saint Paul (sword), pillars of the Church of Rome who encourage, move, or guide a Franciscan carrying a book and a cross, Saint Anthony of Padua, a prominent theologian and preacher of the Franciscan Order. To their left is a religious figure with a tonsure and shaved head, whose attire specifies that he is a priest (and not just a lay brother) by the white priestly surplice covering his habit. Whether Franciscan, Dominican, or of another order. In Baroque painting, other important friars minor who often appear dressed in rich lace surplices are St. Bonaventure and St. Bernardino of Siena. Next to him are three figures who represent the Church itself: a martyred pope, wearing a tiara, holding a palm branch and a lily (St. Fabian); a bishop with a mitre and crozier, who could well be St. Augustine; and a Holy Father of the Church, St. Jerome, famous for translating the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin (the Vulgate), seated on his iconographic lion par excellence, his faithful companion from whom he removed a thorn from his paw, and who followed him throughout his life. A prominent Franciscan at his side, perhaps St. Francis of Assisi, very much in the foreground, not yet having received the stigmata on Mount Alvernia. To the right, and below, just in front of that early church, saints and lay people, male and female: St. Lawrence, the first and with his back turned, with the gridiron with which he received martyrdom and glory; a Spanish soldier or conquistador with his helmet or morion, who could well be Francisco de Pizarro, under St. Mary Magdalene and Martha, another of Jesus' “sisters”... or perhaps the Eritrean Sibyl, a prophetic priestess who presided over the oracle of Apollo in the city of Eritrea, in Ionia, and whom Michelangelo painted with others in the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. Next to him are three figures who represent the Church itself: a martyred pope wearing a tiara, holding a palm branch and a lily (St. Fabian); a bishop wearing a mitre and carrying a crosier, who could well be St. Augustine; and a Holy Father of the Church, St. Jerome, famous for translating the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. More Franciscans can be seen on the horizon of the piece, beneath the celestial figures, angels, and cherubs. These are in the immediate presence of God and are responsible for protecting Divine Glory and the path of heavenly wisdom. They are pure spirits of great power, holiness, and light, dedicated to contemplation and serving the divine will. Aesthetic refinement and a taste for sophistication. An example of personal Baroque luxury full of beauty, with clear functionality. Decorative Arts. Colonial Spanish Am.erica