SILVER WRTITING SET. VICENTE ROCES, ZARAGOZA (SPAIN), CA. 1760.

Silver notary. Vicente Roces, Zaragoza, around 1760. With contrast marks and initials of belonging on the base. The base tray has a square shape with mixtilinear profiles and rests on legs with plant motifs. The four containers have helical gallon feet, and flower-shaped under-pearl finials on the lids. A candlestick emerges from another container, higher than the others and fixed to the tray, with a curved arm finished in a scroll, and is joined by a hinge to it. The bell, also with helical gallons, is topped by a figure of a soldier. The quillbox has holes in the lid for the pens, and is the same size as another of the containers, which was probably the inkwell. Two others, slightly larger, do not have a perforated lid either, and may have been used for drying sand and therefore called grits. The bell, used to call the service, secretary, etc., has another jar as its base, similar to the rest but much higher, from the upper part of which the candlestick emerges. Stylistically, the cleanliness of the lines shows a very slight influence of Neoclassicism, while the helical gallons, the movement of the profiles of the containers, and the typology of the tray (called “contour” and very popular in the silverware of this century) reflect a strong survival of models related to the Rococo. Zaragoza continued to be the main silversmithing center in Aragon, with an abundance of preserved pieces and many marked, allowing for detailed study. The contrast marks ensure the quality of the material and allow us to locate the manufacture and the author of the work. Those of locality, on the arm of the candlestick, place the work in Zaragoza, and date it as being made between around 1760 and 1770. Those of artist, also there and another one at the base, allude to the silversmith Vicente Roces, known for his fine works of Rococo taste such as the Reliquary of San Francisco Javier from the last quarter of the 18th century in the Church of Santa María de Sangüesa (Navarra) and some others in important private collections. Weight: 1,525 gr.

· Size: 18x23x25 cms.