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Vase fuseau made for Mme. Mere (Laetitia Bonaparte). H:107x 38 x 34 cm Manufacture de Sevres Painting made by Georget after the painting "Bonaparte franchissant les Alpes" by David
#30010727

Vase fuseau made for Mme. Mere (Laetitia Bonaparte). H:1...

Coupe de vendange - Harvest cup, offered to Princess Mathilde,cousin of Napoleon III. ca.1844 Silver,partly gilded,enamel,agate,35 x 27 x 15 cm Diamonds of the Crown C.95.012
#30010746

Coupe de vendange - Harvest cup, offered to Princess Mathilde,cousi...

Coupe en lapis-lazuli - Lapis Lazuli cup from Italy, 16th. Mounted in gilt silver and enamelled gold, Paris, around 1670. 42 x 33 cm Diamonds of the Crown, MR 262
#30010750

Coupe en lapis-lazuli - Lapis Lazuli cup from Italy, 16th. Mounted in gilt silv...

Glass drinking-horn, Lombardic, 6th-7th. The colouring and decoration show the use of sophisticated techniques which were kept up by Italian glassblowers from the late Roman period. The horn would have been used to pass around strong drink at feasts and drinking sessions. Found in a grave at Sutri,Viterbo,Italy. M&ME, 1887,1-8,2
#30010812

Glass drinking-horn, Lombardic, 6th-7th. The colouring and decoration show the u...

0310000133 Dish with portrait of a woman, c1490-c1525. Maiolica dish painted with a woman in profile, and a scroll inscribed 'PÊDORMIRENONSAQUISTA', ('nothing is gained by sleeping'). When applied to maiolica, the term 'belle donne', (Italian for 'beautiful women'), usually refers to dishes or plates bearing female heads and a scroll inscribed with a name or motto. The female image is idealised to such a degree that it is unlikely to be an accurate likeness of a particular woman. However, the names are thought to refer to contemporary women, often local worthies or beauties. Those pieces with a moralizing inscription are not belle donne wares in the true sense, but are part of the artistic tradition of portraying female images with a moralizing statement, often one that appears to be specifically addressed to a female audience. This example was made in Deruta, Umbria, Italy. M&ME, 1853,2-21,5
#30010821

0310000133 Dish with portrait of a woman, c1490-c1525. Maiolica dish painted wi...

0310000060 Pottery jar, Germanic, late 3rd century. The jar is burnished, imitating the sheen of imported Roman metal vessels, and has small handles with rusticated decoration on the lower half. Pottery vessels were made in individual households in western Germanic regions. The use of the potter's wheel was unknown. Instead the pots were built up from coils or small slabs of clay. The surfaces were then smoothed before firing in a bonfire covered with turf. Regional forms can often be distinguished, but the decoration could be more individualistic and both forms and patterns could change with fashion over time. This example was found in a male grave near Leuna, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany in 1834. M&ME, 1867,7-4,1
#30010829

0310000060 Pottery jar, Germanic, late 3rd century. The jar is burnished, imita...

0310000112 Mazer and cover, Medieval, Flemish,15th century. A mazer is a drinking bowl made of wood. This example has been suitably embellished with metal mounts and enamelled decoration. The bird standing on top of the cover has a shield hanging around its neck. The shield is enamelled with the arms of Flanders. These arms are repeated on the silver foot. This example has been suitably embellished with metal mounts and enamelled decoration. The bird standing on top of the cover has a shield hanging around its neck. The shield is enamelled with the arms of Flanders. These arms are repeated on the silver foot. Its accompanying embossed leather case has the shields of Flanders and Ghistelles combined, almost certainly an allusion to the marriage of Louis de Flandres, the illegitimate son of Louis de Mâle, Count of Flanders, to Mary of Ghistelles. M&ME, AF.3116
#30010832

0310000112 Mazer and cover, Medieval, Flemish,15th century. A mazer is a drinki...

Gold acorn cup, c1610. Cup in the shape of an acorn, with two rams holding up a coat of arms, surmounted by the Latin inscription 'IHS', short for 'In Hoc Signo', (by this sign). Gold and silver cups have always been highly prized for their symbolic value as well as that of the metal. They were frequently given as marriage or diplomatic gifts, or were especially commissioned as evidence of wealth or social status. By the end of the sixteenth century cups came in all sizes and shapes, often deliberately fantastical. Naturalistic forms were also popular, such as animals and birds, or gourds, apples, pears, nuts and acorns.
#30010834

Gold acorn cup, c1610. Cup in the shape of an acorn, with two rams holding up a...

Sardonyx cup mounted in silver.
#30010838

Sardonyx cup mounted in silver.

The Marlborough ice pails, around 1700. These ice pails are the only surviving English examples made of pure gold. Ice pails became fashionable at the French court from the 1680s, and were thereafter used by nobility and wealthy aristocrats throughout Europe. These ice pails belonged to the Spencer family at Althorp, Northamptonshire, until their acquisition by the British Museum in 1981.
#30010839

The Marlborough ice pails, around 1700. These ice pails are the only surviving E...

Porcelain ice-pail, French, 1811. This porcelain ice-pail, with its elephant heads, formed part of a gift made on 5 May 1812 to the Emperor Francis I of Austria from his son-in-law Napoleon I. In a small composition by Jean-François Robert, Napoleon himself, with the Empress Marie-Louise, can be seen in the landau carriage in front of the Château of Saint-Cloud.The pail originally had metal liners intended to hold ice-cream, surrounded by crushed ice. The elephant heads suggest something of a Rococo fantasy, but the gilt ground and patterns of matt gilded decoration are firmly in the Empire style, reflecting the splendour and luxury of the Napoleonic court. M&ME, 1985,12-3,1-2
#30010840

Porcelain ice-pail, French, 1811. This porcelain ice-pail, with its elephant hea...

Silver bowl, Carolingian, 9th century. Ecclesiastical bowl of gilded solver and niello with a knobbed lid,decorated in relief with rosettes of acanthus leaves, some enclosing crosses and vine tendrils inhabited by birds. The birds are a Christian symbol and represent paradise or Christ in union with his church. The bowl, or Pyx, was used to contain communion wafers and was probably made in northern France. From Spain. M&ME, AF.33041
#30010865

Silver bowl, Carolingian, 9th century. Ecclesiastical bowl of gilded solver and...