SILVER DRINKING CUP . SPAIN, 16TH CENTURY.

Silver catavinos, 16th century. “Cup” type catavinos with plant motifs inside a six-pointed star at the bottom and with a cylindrical base decorated with circular geometric borders. Also known as catavinos, these types of drinking glasses were used on special occasions (ceremonies...), hence their material and the decoration they have, and were very common during the reign of the Austrians in Spain. Although they were objects for civil use, it was not unusual for them to be donated or commissioned for use in churches or liturgical settings. Both the decoration and the shape of the cup show its origin from an artistic nucleus far from the main silversmithing centers. The first, furthermore, links more with Gothic art than with the Renaissance, which by this time had already made an appearance in Spanish silversmithing. Compare, for example, with the bernegal with cardboard-shaped handles from the Prado Museum in Madrid (catalog O00085) from the late 16th century, which has the upper part carved in double concave gallons and shows engraved vegetables and fruits in festoons and ribbons. This difference does not detract from the value of the work, quite the contrary: it is a sign of the attachment to the designs of simple lines and gothic vegetal and geometric decorations that were had in centers far from the creative capitals, whose influence can be seen even in Baroque works. Similar examples can be found in very few private collections and only in a few important museums. For example, similar bernegales from the 16th century are preserved in the Fundación Valencia de Don Juan (Madrid), and those from the 17th century are somewhat more abundant, as demonstrated by those in the Lázaro Galdiano Museum (inventory 3910 and 3916).

· Size: 16x16x4 cms.