Chased and gilded bronze keyhole with hasp. On the lower par - Lot 103

Chased and gilded bronze keyhole with hasp. On the lower part, a pair of warrior figures, male and female, seated, nude and asleep; trophies with helmets and cuirasses on the upper part; vertical bands on either side furnished with ewers, mascarons and the coat of arms of Nicolo d'Antonio Ghiselli and Faustina Capranica surmounted by an armet and mantling half-partite, at 1 : Per fess, in a: Azure, a golden lion rising holding a fleur-de-lis Or; in b: Or, three fleurs-de-lis Azure, in 2 and 1; in 2: Or, three poplars eradicated Vert, fesswise, entwined by a ribbon Gules in saltire between the trees; and an anchor Sable, in bar, on the shaft of the first two trees. Hasp adorned with the allegory of Abundance carrying a basket of fruit on her head; under her feet, the unidentified coat of arms of ... with an eagle displayed .... High-quality casting and execution, with high-relief decoration. Italy, Rome, before 1576 H. 23.5 cm - L. 18 cm On a red velvet stand (associated hasp) The female allegory on the hasp is probably derived from Dovizia, a Florentine variant of Abundantia, many examples of which were reproduced after a prototype by Donatello, notably in Della Robbia's workshop, as a kind of "house goddess" guaranteeing prosperity and fertility. The patron Nicolo d'Antonio Ghiselli was a member of the Ghiselli family, which held a prominent position in Emilia-Romagna (fig.a). By marrying Faustina Capranica in 1576, he sealed an alliance with this prestigious patrician line from Rome, which included several cardinals (fig.b). There are over seventy of these luxurious keyways in public and private collections. Most major museums hold a copy, including the Musée de la Renaissance in Ecouen (inv. ECL20803), the National Gallery of Art in Washington (inv.1942.9.151.a, fig.c), the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (inv.1986.8) and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (inv.BK-NM-14348, fig.c'). Collected since the 19th century, like bronze plaques, they must have found their place at the time of their use on chests, sometimes for weddings, their coats of arms often testifying to the alliance of two families, as here. However, the typology of these lock plates, which are all emblazoned with coats of arms, rules out the idea that they were placed on carved wooden cassones, which themselves could bear cartouches adorned with coats of arms. The short hasp attachment indicates that they were more likely to be attached to bulb-topped trunks, soberly covered in leather or velvet, used for transport when the owners travelled. Most of these pieces of furniture for everyday use have disappeared, due to the fragility of their joinery, and only a few examples are known, such as one that passed in a Parisian public sale some twenty years ago, which was fitted with mobile, worked side handles, made in the same workshop that supplied the plates (Sale Paris, Tajan, May 17, 2000, exp. Perrier, lot 39, fig.d). All that remains of these fragile, undecorated pieces of everyday furniture is their luxurious lock. Identification of the coats of arms has enabled us to date this serial production to the last third of the 16th century. The earliest known example is a lock in the National Museum of the Palazzo di Venezia in Rome, bearing the coat of arms of Gianfrancesco Passionei and Emilia Mellini, dated between 1569 and 1573 (inv. PV1599). Many of the families whose coats of arms we have identified are Roman or became Roman, which supports the idea that the foundry that produced this piece was located in the Italian capital. Works consulted : - Cronologia delle famiglie nobili di Bologna con le loro insegne, e nel fine i cimieri. Centuria prima, con vn breue discorso della medesima citta di Pompeo Scipione Dolfi ..., Bologna, Gio. Battista Ferroni, 1670, pp. 342-344. - L. Madersbacher, "Armorial Lockplates: A Story of Success in Renaissance Rome" in The Rijksmuseum Bulletin, n° 69(4), 2021, p. 302-321