CHURCH LAMP. SILVER. CÁDIZ, SPAIN, 18TH CENTURY (1767).
Antiques -
Reference: ZF1315
Votive lamp. Silver in its color. Cadiz, 18th century (1767). No hallmarks. Inscribed. A silver-colored ceiling lamp featuring a deep lower section divided into levels by a series of moldings, ending in a ring and decorated with plant and architectural elements; a series of chains alternating elongated links with round rings; and a top finial reminiscent of the aforementioned lower section in its shapes and decoration. Inside a shield topped with a crown appears an inscription relating to the person who donated the piece and the date: “By the devotion of D. Manuel Joseph de Alba. Made in Cadiz in the year 1767”. A record is kept at the University of Veracruz (record code 27_1767_12485, folio 115 back-117, record location Jalapa) in which Don Manuel José de Alba is mentioned, the legitimate son of Don Juan José de Alba and Doña Beatriz de Aragón, a native of the town of Chiclana and resident of the city of Cadiz, residing in Jalapa. Someone with the same name (probably the one alluded to in the piece) appears in documents from 1767 from the Corpus Christi Convent in Alcalá de los Gazules. Votive lamps are a type of liturgical furnishings whose purpose was to burn to illuminate either an image to which one felt a strong devotion or the Blessed Sacrament, so they were frequently found accompanying the tabernacles of chapels. Several early examples survive, mainly in private collections and ecclesiastical institutions. Compare, for example, the 1720 Juan del Río lamp from New Mexico (Franz Mayer Museum, Mexico City, Mexico); three from the 18th century in the church of Santa María de Tobed (Zaragoza, Spain); another from 1788 in the parish of Nuestra Señora de Gracia de Montalbán in Córdoba (Spain); etc. Weight: 3020 grams.
· Size: 46x46x115 cms.
2.500 €
