Snap!

Silver-gilt mounted Chinese Porcelain Bowl

From the Hunt Collection this Ming dynasty, Wan Li (1573-1619) (Emperor Xian), porcelain bowl has distinctive Elizabethan silver mounts. The outside rim of the bowl is decorated with a flying horse border and the walls are decorated with flower sprays.

This Chinese porcelain bowl and similar examples would have been created for the European market, the gilt mounts possibly added once it arrived in Europe and appealing to the European aesthetic.

The Trenchard bowl below (1599 -1600) is on display in the Victoria & Albert Museum and is similar in style to that of the Hunt collection. It is made of Jiajing porcelain with gilded silver mounts, that similarly were added in London once the bowl was imported. The pattern is made up of pomegranates in foliage. The rim is mounted with silver-gilt with straps running down to the mounted base.  The handles are in the form of gilt mermen.

The two-handled bowl below is from The Met collection, it originated from Burghley House in Lincolnshire, it is very similar to the V&A example with similar Merman handles. The porcelain is decorated with hares, on the inside there is foliage and at its centre is a small rabbit or hare.

The hare or rabbit is a symbol of longevity on Ming dynasty objects, there is a Daoist legend that says a white hare or rabbit lives on the moon, whose job it is to grind the elixir for immorality.

It is suggested that William Cecil, Lord Burghley who was an adviser to Elizabeth I is associated with bowls of this type, fine porcelain and gilded silver handles and mounts.

Silver Medallion and Ivory Mirror Cases

This silver medallion from the Hunt Museum has been dated to the late medieval period between the 14th and 16th centuries. The style of dress of the two figures, the lady wears the escoffion or headdress that was worn by ladies of the court or those who were part of the royal family, the male figure wears a medieval headdress and houppelande with flaring sleeves. The male figure holds a wreath and the lady holds a puppy, they appear to be a garden. A banner above them reads In Gre. 

Above is one of two very similar examples to the Hunt medallion, an ivory mirror case at The Walters Art Museum.  This circular ivory carved piece illustrates many of the same symbolism and imagery, two medieval figures in a garden. Above their heads, the banner reads Prenes. 

Together with the Hunt inscription, it would read Prenez En Gre, this could refer to the phrase found in the poetry of Christine de Pisan: Prenez en gre don de votre amant – Take kindly the gift of your lover

The second example comes from Musée de Cluny le monde médiéval in Paris. This object is described as a valve of a mirror case, it is described as the counterpart of the example in the Walters Gallery. The scene carved on the this ivory disc is nearly a replica of the Hunt Collection example. See below for both examples side by side.

Play with a 3D model!

Horse Aquamanile

An aquamanile is a vessel from which water is poured for hand-washing in both domestic and liturgical settings (often relating to formal worship or religious practice). It comes from Latin, aqua being water and manus is hand. The Hunt collection aquamanile dates from the 15th century. The style of the horse is naturalistic, although there is a small dragon that forms the handle, the dragon holds the rein of the horse. There is a lidded opening at the head, whereby water could be poured in, and the spout and spigot (valve) are attached to the breast of the horse.

The quality and style of the aquamanile indicate that it was made in the Bavarian city of Nuremberg.

Saint Barbara was revered in the Middle Ages, the veneration of Saint Barbara in Western Europe can be traced to the 9th century. Her martyrdom was due to the miracles that surround her story. Barbara was the only daughter of a rich pagan, who locked her in a tower to shield her from the world. However, she secretly became a Christian, she made three windows in her tower to signify the holy Trinity.  When her father discovered that she was Christian her had her tortured, but her wounds miraculously healed. Her father condemned her to be beheaded and when he carried this out he was struck by lightening.

Below is a 15th or 16th-century ‘decade ring’ from the collection of the V&A Museum, decade rings are composed of ten knobs joined together, the ten bosses would have allowed the wearer to count the 10 rounds of prayers that made up a ‘decade of the rosary’. This ring has a bevelled head showing a Saint on each side, St Barbara and St Christopher, important saints n the late Middle Ages.

The example below is very similar to the ring in the Hunt collection, St Barbara is shown holding a tower, emblematic of how her father imprisoned her in a tower in which she added three windows to symbolise the Trinity (a belief of the Christian church, God, Father and the Holy Ghost). This ring may have once been further decorated with enamel, it is a small ring that may have been worn by a child or on the upper part of the finger by an adult.

Nuremberg Brass Plate: Adam and Eve

These brass plates are collectively called Nuremberg Brass Alms Dishes, however, these dishes were never intended to be used for alms. Dishes were made in Nuremberg and other German cities during the 16th and 17th centuries to be used as domestic dishes as wealthier households tried to emulate the precious metals and precious jewels that were used in royal courts. Households displayed these plates to demonstrate their wealth to guests when they were used as decorative or serving dishes. The first example is from the Hunt Collection, which shows the story of Adam and Eve, surrounded with lettering.

The example below shows identical imagery to that in the Hunt example. It also shows Adam and Eve with a snake wrapped around the apple tree, the snake symbolising evil or the devil as tempter. This plate picture is also surrounded with text, however, this is thought to have meaning and is possible an epitaph or memorial.

The final example is from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston USA. It shows a similar picture but in higher relief than the previous examples. The walls of the garden and the tower behind is clearly visible. The figures of Adam and Eve are more clearly but similarly designed. There is a border of script surrounding the picture but this has not been deciphered. Interestingly, it is thought that many of the inscriptions on these plates are meaningless and were often added purely as decoration.

Snap! is an on-going project we will continue to publish items from our collection that seem to pop up in other museums!

If you have an object that you would like to share email us collections@huntmuseum.com.