Title

Chalice

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

This exquisite piece, typical of the silverwork produced during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, shows signs of having been made in Ávila. The mark O/A arranged within a square, allows us to recognize the master assayer, Alonso Hidalgo “the elder”, who was a marker between 1500 and around 1522; he worked as a cathedral silversmith in Ávila until 1529 (Sánchez, 2020). As was customary, the hallmark of the city of Ávila appears above his: a tower with two crenellated floors; this hallmark was used on silverware from Ávila during the first third of the 16th century. The maker's mark also appears: PEDRO (Oman, 1968). The same assayer, Alonso Hidalgo “el viejo”, is responsible for other pieces still present in the province of Ávila, such as the chalice of the parish church of Villarejo del Valle or the chalice of the parish church of Candeleda (Domínguez Blanca, 2012).
With regard to the heraldry engraved on the piece, the coats of arms at the base of the chalice must have been enameled and are related to Gonzalo Dávila, born in Ávila, son of Sancho Sánchez Dávila and Inés Fajardo. The nobleman married first Inés de la Ribera and then María de Saavedra, whose coat of arms also appears on the chalice. He was the chief magistrate of Jerez and governor of the military order of Calatrava, he also formed part of the Royal Council of Henry IV and was master of the royal household to the Catholic Monarchs. Gonzalo Dávila had a noble house in his home town, a building located in the square in front of the cathedral in Ávila, which currently functions as a hotel. His lineage also held patronage over the neighboring convent of San Francisco, today transformed into a cultural center.

Description

The chalice has a rich decoration of plant motifs, such as thistle and acanthus leaves, as well as a careful architectural decoration in which the niches with canopies and the Gothic tracery stand out. Made of gilded silver, it must have had a paten to go with it.

Locations

• Unknown date

  province

  Ávila, Ávila (Spain)

• 1882 - present

  museum

  Victoria & Albert Museum, London (United Kingdom)