Title

Chalice

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Inscriptions / Marks

O/A inside a square.
PEDRO
Mark of the city of Ávila: Two-story crenelated tower
Coats of arms of Gonzalo Dávila and María Saavedra

Object history

This exquisite piece, typical of the silver work during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, shows traces of its origin in Avila. The O/A mark arranged within a square allows us to recognize the master assayer, Alonso Hidalgo "the old", who was a marker between 1500 and around 1522; he worked as a cathedral silversmith in Avila until 1529 (Sánchez, 2020). As was customary, the mark of the city of Avila appears above his own: tower with two crenellated floors; this mark was used in Avila silversmithing during the first third of the 16th century. The maker's mark also appears: PEDRO (Oman, 1968). Other pieces still present in the province of Avila, such as the chalice of the parish of Villarejo del Valle or the chalice of the parish of Candeleda, correspond to the same assayer, Alonso Hidalgo "el viejo" (Domínguez Blanca, 2012).

Regarding the heraldry engraved on the piece, the coats of arms on the foot 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 with Inés de la Ribera and in second marriage with María de Saavedra, -whose arms appear, also, in the chalice-; he was corregidor of Jerez and governor of the maestrazgo of Calatrava, also was part of the Royal Council of Enrique IV and was maestresala of the Catholic Kings. Gonzalo Dávila had a noble house in his hometown, a building located in the cathedral square of Ávila, which currently serves as a hotel. Likewise, his lineage exercised patronage over the neighboring convent of San Francisco, today transformed into a cultural center.

Description

The chalice is richly decorated with vegetal motifs, such as thistle and acanthus leaves, as well as a careful architectural decoration in which the niches with canopy and Gothic tracery stand out. Made of gilded silver, it must have had a paten that would form a set with this piece.

Locations

• Unknown date

  province

  Ávila, Ávila (Spain)

• 1882 - present

  museum

  Victoria & Albert Museum, London (United Kingdom)