Italian, Venice, late 16th century

the salver centred with the arms of the Piovene family and adorned with scenes of water gods, floral motifs and grotesques; the ewer bearing the arms of the Piovene family and adorned with scenes from the life of Hercules, grotesques and floral decorations; and the candlesticks adorned with floral decorations and river gods and with place marks on the interior

Piovene family, Lonedo di Lugo;
and thence by family descent to the present owners

Overall the condition of the bronzes is good with minor dirt and wear to the surfaces consistent with age. Pressure has been applied to the left side of the body of the ewer and there is some slight warping to the metal here. There are some small spots of red paint; some small areas dark discolouration; and some small spots of greening to the surface of the ewer (particular greening around the mouth of the dragon handle). There are dirt residues and greening to the decorative border with vignettes in the charger (this may be where another object has been placed over the charger for a long sustained period of time, possibly a planter or tureen). The dirt has become encrusted and we recommend that a conservator should be consulted about its removal. There are a few further spots of greening to the charger, including to the central emblema. There are a few further dark dirt residues, notably to the reverse. It is probable that a few parts of the decoration on the candlesticks is later, notably the palmette-type border underneath the drip-pans (and consequently obscured from view). Potentially the decoration on the tops of the candlesticks could also be late (as could the decoration at the stem of the foot of the ewer). One of the candlesticks has casting flaws (lacunae at the lower border with vignettes) and there is a loss at the edge of the drip-pan. There are various dirt residues, minor discolourations, and spots of greening to the candlesticks, in particular in the crevices of the incised engraving. There are white residues to the aforementioned candlestick, and the drip-pan has been partially polished. There are slightly encrusted wax residues to another of the candlesticks throughout. This candlestick has also received a knock to the bottom edge, which has resulted in the candlestick not being quite stable on a flat surface. Another of the candlesticks is slightly unstable on a flat surface.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This unusually large and finely engraved bronze service was made in Northern Italy in the second half of the 16^th century. It relates closely to a category of metalwork traditionally known as Veneto-Saracenic ware, which is characterised by the technique of inlaying precious silver, gold or black compound onto brass within intricate and all-consuming decorative schemes of arabesques and other abstract motifs. Initially made in the Levant and Persia and subsequently thought to have been manufactured in Northern Italy, this type of metalwork was much sought-after in Europe during the 15^th and 16^thcenturies. The fashion for these exotic objects is believed to have been introduced to the Occident through the vibrant trading centre of Renaissance Venice, with her strong links to the Mamluk Sultinate and the Ottoman Empire, and is recorded in numerous contemporary accounts, including the writings of Benvenuto Cellini.

Sylvia Auld, in her canonical work on the subject, Renaissance Venice, Islam and Mahmud The Kurd, has organised the metalwork into three principal categories. The first includes objects dating from the last decades of the Mamluk Sultinate, circa 1450-1517, and is characterised by decoration in the form of geometric interlace, the use of European object shapes and the absence of inscriptions. The second group was probably made for export to Europe by Iranian or Turkish masters and is recognisable through the use of silver wire inlays which expand across the surface in a ‘curvilinear network of medallions and scrolls’ (Contadini, op. cit., p. 312). The third group constitutes European imitations, possibly made by Muslim craftsmen living in Venice, but probably the work of Venetian masters creating free interpretations in a fashionable Eastern style. These European wares use the same inlay technique and a similar decorative vocabulary of arabesques and interlace, but are distinct in the way the decoration is laid out: compartmentalised within definite borders as opposed to stretching out seemingly infinitely.

The present set of eight candlesticks, a salver and a ewer follow in the so-called Veneto-Saracenic tradition in covering all visible surfaces in beautifully incised and intricate decorative motifs. However, there are notable differences. Whilst Veneto-Saracenic objects are defined by the use of brass, inlaid with precious metals, the present objects are made of bronze, turned and engraved. The clearest variance is found in the layout and the form of decoration. Veneto-Saracenic wares comprising Auld’s first and second groups solely adopt abstract decoration in the form of arabesques, knots, interlace, palmettes, lotus leaves and other such devices. Italian made objects from Auld’s third group occasionally include figurative elements, such as grotesques and caryatids. The present service relates to these Occidental wares in this respect, as we see birds, putti, fauns, mermen and other fantastical creatures interspersed within the swirling decorative forms. However, the objects represent a Western development from these Islamiscising designs as they largely substitute Eastern abstract motifs for classicizing equivalents and even include vignettes with scenes of the Labours of Hercules. The present group consequently follows in the tradition of these Veneto-Saracenic wares, but marks a continuing evolution towards a more European style.

The present service finds strong comparisons within the known corpus of Venetian 16^th-century metalwork. Compare, for example, the salver with a brass charger inlaid with silver in the Courtauld Gallery (inv. no. O.1966.GP.202), which Auld has categorised as falling into her third group. Like the present salver, this example is composed of clearly defined bands of decoration, whilst mythical and bucolic creatures are similarly interspersed within the abstract motifs. The latter characteristic was recommended by Cellini, who argued that ‘some little birds and different animals’ and ‘monsters’ would ‘add charm’ to a design of arabesques (Auld, op. cit., p. 58). In the present group of objects, the engraver has taken this advice to its natural conclusion by adding figures so liberally that they have become protagonists within the overall design and are complemented by mythological scenes (as described above). The dragon-like creatures and the mermen find close parallels in those found on a late 16^th-century Venetian bronze vessel sold in these rooms on 28 October 2004, lot 63. This vessel also includes figurative scenes, framed within similar strapwork borders. Returning to the Courtauld dish, here we see the emergence of classicising abstract motifs over arabesques and other eastern motifs. Note, for example, the crowning wreath bordering the umbo. Auld writes that the appearance of strapwork, grotesques and ‘classicising swags and masks’ make ‘incontrovertible its identification as western work’ (Auld, op. cit., p. 230). In the present salver the arabesques of old have given way to curling tendrils and  blossoming flowers which recall the all’antica pilasters of the Lombardo workshops and derive from the Vines of Paradise which famously adorn the Ara Pacis Augustae in Rome. Only the three panels with interlace in the concave outer band and the bordering convex band of guilloche pattern recall Eastern designs.

The present ewer follows a form seen relatively frequently in European metalwork. Compare, for example, with the, copper circa 1700 Venetian ewer sold in these rooms on 10 March 1983, lot 87, or even the pewter flask cast after a model by François Briot from the Frits Philips collection, sold Sotheby’s, 4-5 December 2006, lot 225. A similar shape, with splayed foot, balaster vase, looping handle, but trefoil lip, is recorded by Auld has having been adopted for Veneto-Saracenic ewers (Auld, op. cit., p. 290). According to Auld, the form exists in ancient Greek, Sassanian, Byzantine and Fatamid examples (Auld, op. cit., p. 290). The engraving on the present ewer is particularly fine, note the wonderful grotesques on either side of central vignette, with varying poses.

The baluster shaped candlesticks follow a model which is believed to derive from a type of 16^th-century Venetian wine glass (Contadini, op. cit., p. 313). This form can be seen again in a pair of mid-16^th-century Italian candlesticks in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. 553-4-1865) from Auld’s third group. A particularly strong parallel is found in a pair of 16^th-century Venetian examples sold in these rooms on 28 October 2004, lot 12. These exhibit similarly high quality deep engraving and little scenes with Hercules analogous to the ovals with water gods found on the present examples.

The impressive nature of this large service, which centres on an elaborate salver bearing a coat of arms, strongly indicates that it would have been intended as a show-piece to be displayed in the camera of a Renaissance palazzo on a credenza.

RELATED LITERATURE
S. Melikian-Chirvani, Islamic Metalwork from the Iranian World. 8-18^th Centuries, exh. cat. Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982; J. W. Allan, Metalwork of the Islamic World: The Aron Collection, London, 1986; S. Auld, Renaissance Venice, Islam and Mahmud the Kurd. A metalworking enigma, London, 2004, pp. 7-9, 54-70, 215-267, 288-301; A. Contadini, ‘Middle-Eastern objects,’ M. Ajmar-Wollheim and F. Dennis, At Home in Renaissance Italy, exh. cat. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 2006, pp. 308-321

Sotheby's would like to thank Dr Sylvia Auld for her assistance in cataloguing this lot.