Small ovoid vase on pedestal in cut and engraved rock crysta - Lot 13

Small ovoid vase on pedestal in cut and engraved rock crystal, mounted in gilt silver. Decorated with leafy scrolls and snails. Milan, late 16th - early 17th century H. 13 cm; diam. 5.5 cm Provenance Private collection, Munich Comparative bibliography Daniel Alcouffe, Les Gemmes de la Couronne, Paris 2001, nos. 131, 143 and 144, pp. 289, 293, 296 and 310-312. Paola Venturelli, Il Tesoro dei Medici al Museo degli Argenti. Oggetti preziosi in cristallo e pietre dure nelle collezioni di Palazzo Pitti, Florence 2009, p.271, no. 164,165. Condition: good The engraved decoration of leafy scrolls, loaded with seeds, ears of corn or fleurons, is typical of the production of Milanese lapidary workshops. As examples, several pieces in the Musée du Louvre feature comparable decoration, such as ovoid ewers with gadrooned ornamentation (MR 471 & 472), or a bouquet pot with small engraved snails hiding in the foliage (MR 470). Small ovoid vases of the same type can also be found in the Museo degli argenti in Florence (inv. Gemme del 1921, nos. 462 A, 470, and 676 B).