Royal & Noble
Royal & Noble
Property from the Berkeley Collection at Spetchley Park
A silk embroidered, metal-thread and coral altar panel (Antependium), Italian, probably Naples, 17th century
Lot Closed
January 18, 06:05 PM GMT
Estimate
600 - 800 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from the Berkeley Collection at Spetchley Park
A silk embroidered, metal-thread and coral altar panel (Antependium), Italian, probably Naples, 17th century
worked in polychrome silks, gilt-metal-threads and coral beads, with three large vases with scrolling handles, and bunches of flowers, on a cream silk damask ground with scrolls and pomegranate motifs, each vase separated by later vertical strips of applied lace; together with a matching burse with cross and glory and flowers in each corner (52cm by 52cm)
(Qty 2)
Altar Frontal mounted on a stretcher: 58cm. high, 202cm. wide; 1ft. ¹⁰⁄₈in. high, 6ft. ⁷⁄₅in. wide
This altar frontal, without obvious liturgical symbolism, is distinctive in its use of coral as highlights. Coral along with pearls, beads and precious stones had a renewed appeal in the 17th century, having originally been so prominent in the Medieval vestments. The coral would have been popular on vestments in Naples and Sicily where the coral was available. There is a floral Cope with coral highlights on the hood in this sale.
For comparable vestments in museum collections, see the Art Institute of Chicago, for a Cope, circa 1601/1675 (Ref. No. 1965.772), and a Chasuble, early to mid 17th century (Ref.No. 1965.773), and a very similar earlier altar panel, 1600s, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (T.254-1920), which has four vases of the same flowers, each compartment separated by a column, highlighted with coral (replaced by the lace on the present panel), and the central compartment depicts a colonnade with a figure of the Assumption of the Virgin. The cream silk background is distressed.