Lot n° 173
Estimation :
20000 - 25000
EUR
Rare pendant jewelry from the Order of Malta attributed to t - Lot 173
Rare pendant jewelry from the Order of Malta attributed to the goldsmith Giuseppe Bruno (1618-1682).
Polylobed oval medallion in gold with enamel decoration in relief. The convex obverse, bordered by a gold fillet, features a white Maltese cross in the center on a turquoise-blue background with a damask ground bordered by black dotted lines, surrounded by a garland of tulips and polychrome flowers. It is encircled by sixteen gold-edged lobes: eight large petal-shaped ones, each decorated with a bouquet of three polychrome flowers, tulips and anemones on a white background, interspersed with eight small, light-green enamelled sepals with black veins. The concave reverse features the Virgin Mary in glory, hands clasped, feet resting on a crescent moon in the clouds, framed by six cherubs. The large lobes, set in wide gold stripes, are each adorned with a flower, either a red or yellow tulip or a blue and yellow anemone. The oval sepals, enameled light green, are adorned with black dots and stripes. Three-point clasp topped by a rib, flat ring and double free ring.
Minimal hair, chip to a sepal on the reverse.
H. 45 mm - l. 34 mm - Weight: 13.49 g
Italy, Messina, second half of the 17th century
Rare pendant jewel of the Order of Malta attributed to the goldsmith Giuseppe Bruno (1618-1682)
Oval polylobed medallion in gold with raised enamel decorations. The convex obverse, bordered with a gold thread, features at the center a white Maltese cross on a turquoise blue background with a damask pattern, bordered with black dotted lines, surrounded by a garland of tulips and polychrome flowers. It is encircled by sixteen lobes outlined in gold: eight large petalshaped lobes, each decorated with a bouquet of three flowers, polychrome tulips and anemones on a white background, interspersed with eight small sepals in light green enamel with black veins. The concave reverse depicts the Virgin Mary in glory, her hands joined, her feet resting on a crescent moon amidst the clouds, framed by six cherubs. The large lobes, set in wide gold thread borders, each feature a flower, either a red or yellow tulip or a blue and yellow anemone, while the oval sepals in light green enamel are decorated with black fillets and dots. The bail has three attachment points topped with a rib, a flat ring, and a double free ring.
Tiny hairline cracks, chip on one sepal on the reverse.
H. 17 11/16 in - l. 13 3/8 in - W. 0.458 oz
Italy, Messina, second half of the 17th century.
3 J The origins of the chivalric institution, later known as the Order of Malta, date back to the mid-11th century, when Amalfi merchants obtained permission from the Caliph of Egypt to build a church, convent and hospital in Jerusalem to accommodate pilgrims. Organized by Brother Gérard, the community in charge of the Hospital of St. John was recognized by a bull from Pope
Pascal II in 1113. Reporting only to the Pope and electing its own leader, this congregation gradually developed into a religious, hospitable and military order, designed to welcome and care for pilgrims, but also to defend them. It was made up of chaplains, brother knights and servants-at-arms. Benefiting from numerous supporters, it flourished in the Holy Land and, despite the fall of Saint-Jean d'Acre in 1291, succeeded in maintaining and developing its mission of caring for the sick and fighting the Ottomans and Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean throughout the whole of the 17th century.
Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean throughout the Ancien Régime. First withdrawn to Cyprus, then after 1310 to Rhodes, abandoned in 1522 after a heroic five-month siege, the Order established itself in 1530 in Malta, from which it was expelled in 1798 by Bonaparte sailing to Egypt.
Bibliography:
- COLLECTIF, Honneur et Gloire, les trésors de la Collection Spada, Société des amis du musée national de la Légion d'honneur et des ordres de chevalerie, Paris 2008, pp.16-17.
- KUGEL, Alexis, Joyaux Renaissance, une splendeur retrouvée, Paris, 2000, n°93 and 94.
- MARTIN, Étienne, L'évolution de la croix métallique de l'ordre de Malte du XVIe au milieu du XIXe siècle, in Bulletin de la société des amis du musée national de la Légion d'honneur et des ordres de Chevalerie, n°26, 2023, pp.93-107.
- MUSOLINO, Grazia, "L'Habito" dei Cavalieri di Malta tra ornamento ed esigenze propagandistiche, in Frammenti e memorie dell'ordine di Malta nel Valdemone, La Grafica Editoriale, Messina, 2008, pp. 341-346.
- DI NATALE, Maria Concetta, Splendori di Sicilia, arti Decorative dal Rinascimento al Barocco, Charta, Milan, 2001, pp.340-344.
- DI NATALE, Maria Concetta, La croce dei Cavalieri di Malta, emblema-gioiello, nell'area mediterranea, in Vanity, Profanity & Worship: Jewellery from the Maltese Islands, exhibition catalog, Fondazzjoni Patrimonju Malti, Malta, 2013, pp. 15-28.
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