This banded agate intaglio is close to a model published in
Raspe-Tassie (1797, op.
cit., no.
6468) as Vulcan forging
arrows for Venus and Cupid, and there ascribed to the
celebrated Italian Renaissance engraver Valerio Belli, als o
known as Valerio Vicentino (circa 1468-1546).
The Raspe
Tassie gem is catalogued as ‘Jasper, or rather a Roc
Chrystal [sic]’ (op
cit.). The model is found in a rock cry stal
panel on Belli’s vase from the collection of Baron Mauric e de
Rothschild in the musée du Louvre (inv
OA 8281).
no. It has
been tentatively attributed to Belli by Burns, Collareta an d
Gasparotto (1494-1553) (op
cit., pp.
263-264, 526, no.
1 82).
The model is known, along with variants, in a series plaq uettes,
several of which are published by Bange (1922, op.
cit.,
n os.
900-901).
Burns et al suggest that the model as seen in these
plaquettes may be a later elaboration by Giovanni Berna rdi
(1494-1553) (op.
cit., pp.
263-264, 526, no.
182)
In Greek mythology Venus, or Aphrodite, was the wife of
Vulcan, god of fire and the forge.
dating of Renaissance glyptics is complex.
Whilst the present
intaglio is stylistically likely to date to the second half of the
16th century, a 17th century dating cannot be ruled out.
THE VULCAN INTAGLIO AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH
ARCHBISHOP PARKER
The gem was published as the ‘Parker Jewel’ by Albert Way in
1862.
Way associated it with the set of nine conjoined vellum
roundels, which record a gift by Archbishop Parker to Queen
Elizabeth I (also Lloyd Baker collection, see lots 2 and 3).
Way
describes the gem as a convex ‘jasper agate’ and describes
it as ‘cinque-cento work’ (16th-century).
He notes that the
subject ‘has been frequently repeated [as discussed above,
cf Raspe-Tassie], with some slight variations, and it has
been explained as representing Venus obtaining from Vulcan
armour for Aeneas’.
Way describes the ingenious conflation
of the word ‘Acathe’ [sic] (agate) and ‘Achates’ (Aeneas’
loyal companion in the Aeneid) in the vellum manuscript,
and proposes that the present gem was presented to Queen
Elizabeth I by Archbishop Parker (her loyal ‘Achates’) within
the rose turned ivory pyx (lot 3).
In Virgil’s Aeneid the go ddess
of beauty seduces Vulcan in order to persuade him to m ake
Aeneas’ elaborate armour, including the shield which wa s
engraved with prophetic scenes depicting the future of
Rome.
The scene is represented in ancient Roman glypti cs,
such as the Syrian garnet cabochon intaglio in the Walte rs
Art Museum, in which Vulcan is depicted seated at his an vil
(the standard iconography for the god in glyptic art) with
Venus seated before him (inv.
42.474). Raspe-Tassie
lists several further depictions of Vulcan including anoth er
given to Belli (no
6460), and a carnelian from the Palatin e
Cabinet which was in the collection of the Duc d’Orléans at the
time of publication (1791) and, like the present gem, sho ws
Venus standing (no.
6466). Note also the impression of a
(presumably Neoclassical) gem with a similar scene to t he
present intaglio formerly in collection of Prince Poniatow ski
Way’s argument for the present intaglio being the ‘Parker
Jewel’ would have been given weight by the long association
between gem, manuscript and ivory box within the Lloyd Baker
family.
However, his claim is undermined by the erotic subject
matter of the present intaglio, which Way himself describes as
‘inappropriate...as a token of the homage of a grave and pious
prelate to his sovereign’.
More significantly, the recent publication of a translation of
Matthew Parker’s De Antiquitate Britanniae Ecclesia in 2014
has revealed that the manuscript likely originally accompanied
a golden salt cellar inset with agates presented by Matthew
Parker on a royal visit to Canterbury on the occasion of the
Queen’s 40th birthday (7 September 1573).
The text reads:
“Besides this splendid and sumptuous banquet, the Archbishop
bestowed certain distinguished gifts upon the Queen, namely
a salt cellar made of gold, into the cover of which was inset a
jewel, an agate, containing St George killing the dragon, along
with verses in French upon the customary royal insignia; in
the curved section or hollow of this was enclosed another
agate, incised into which was a true likeness of the Queen on
white agate.
The present intaglio departs from the Raspe-Tassie mod el
principally in the positioning of the anvil (and idiosyncrat ic tree
stump with knots); the inclusion of Cupid’s torch; and Ve nus’
outstretched arm holding Cupid’s bow and quiver (in the
Raspe-Tassie model the arm is bent and the attributes a bsent).
The present intaglio exhibits an erotic aspect absent in t he
Raspe-Tassie model, principally through the removal of t he
drape preserving Venus’ modesty, which reveals her gen der.
The gem is exceptional for the beauty of the stone.
The
engraver has ingeniously employed the red layers of aga te
to simulate the searing heat of the forge, which rises and
evaporates as it reaches the gods’ upper bodies.
Althoug h
Belli is famed for his work of rock crystal, of which the M edici
casket in Palazzo Pitti is his masterpiece, the engraver is
known to have worked in hardstone.
The beautiful diaspr o
marrone screziato intaglio with a muse, perhaps, Euterp e,
in the collections of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatswort h,
is an example of his use of a rare multi-coloured specime n
hardstone (inv.
no.
39/246; see Burns et al, op.
cit., no.
131).
However, Belli’s treatment of the Vulcan scene in th e
Rothschild vase differs from the present intaglio principa lly
in the stocky figures which are tightly packed together.
T he
present intaglio is characterised by more slender elegant
figures and a greater sense of space, indicating that it po st
dates Belli’s lifetime.
On the top of its cover, a small golden boat held a
rectangular diamond.
The Archbishop gave the Queen this salt
cellar as a gift…”
The manuscript includes illustrations of engraved gems
depicting St George and the dragon, and Queen Elizabeth;
matching the primary source account quoted above.
It is
therefore clear that Way was mistaken when he associated the
present gem with the Parker manuscript.
DR JOHN SHARP, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK (1644-1714)
The intaglio, manuscript and ivory box (lots 2 and 3) were
possibly acquired by Dr John Sharp, Archbishop of York (1644-
1714), who was close to Queen Anne (1665-1714).
Sharp was a
distinguished numismatist and collector of coins and medals,
principally of the British Isles.
Between 1698 and 1699 he wrote
‘Observations on the Coinage of England with a letter to Mr
[Ralph] Thoresby’ which was eventually published in 1785.
An
extensive part of his collection was dedicated to coins minted
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Archbishop Sharp’s
collection descended to Catherine Sharp (1770-1843) of Clare
Hall, near Barnet, and then to her nephew Thomas Barwick Lloyd
Baker (1807-1886), who Albert Way records as the owner of the
present intaglio in 1862.
Lloyd Baker was a direct descendent
of Archbishop Sharp through his maternal grandfather William
Sharp (1729-1810), surgeon to King George III.
The quality of the engraving and the use of Belli’s model points
to a dating towards the close of the 16th century.
Howeve r, the
use of such a rare and unusual banded agate is more typ ical of
the interest in specimen hardstones in the early 17th cen tury,
a time when European princes such as Rudolf II were for ming
wunderkammern (wonder rooms).
The way in which the stone
is obliquely carved, requiring the viewer to rotate the sto ne in
order to read the scene, is also an approach seen in the 1 7th
century (Diana Scarisbrick, private correspondence).
12