Platter (Salver)
maker
Unknown
Dateabout 1500
Place MadeVenice, Veneto, Italy, Europe
MediumEtched brass with inlaid silver
Dimensions5.2 x 45.7 cm (2 1/16 x 18 in.)
ClassificationsVessels
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberM27w79
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryLike the illumination attributed to Gentile Bellini, this brass platter is a Venetian response to Islamic art. The object is decorated with silver wire that has been fused to the brass in a technique called damascening, named after the city of Damascus. During the Renaissance, damascene brass was imported from the eastern Mediterranean to Italy, and by 1500 this Islamic technique had been adopted by craftsmen in Italy. Brass objects inlaid with intricate Arabesque designs in silver became especially popular in Venice. Some objects were close copies of Islamic models, while others, like this plate, mingle Italian and Eastern patterns.
Source: Eye of the Beholder, edited by Alan Chong et al. (Boston: ISGM and Beacon Press, 2003): 100.
Id724526
Last Updated8/14/24
EmbARK ObjectID12438
Source ID1561
