Title

Jarro de Pico

Solís, Hernando de [attributed to] (Active in Valladolid in the first third of the 17th century)

Generic classification

Object

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Inscriptions / Marks

‘OLIS’ and trademark of the city of Valladolid.

Object history

The spouted pitchers had a special role in Spanish silverware of the Modern Age. Their function was generally civil, as they were used to pour water for washing hands before and after meals; for this reason, these pieces were usually accompanied by a fountain that collected the water. This is a typology that enjoyed special fortune from the mid-sixteenth century and throughout the seventeenth century, and is one of the most emblematic of Spanish silverware. In the documentation, this type of spouted pitcher is sometimes referred to as "jarro aguamanil". Depending on its origin, Valladolid or Seville, this typology presents appreciable differences in the body, the base, the spout and especially in the shape of the handle. The jugs from Valladolid usually have a handle in the shape of a seven (Cruz Valdovinos, 1996), as we note in this work. Representative examples are preserved, for example, in the Royal Palace collection, in the Lázaro Galdiano Museum, in the National Archaeological Museum, in the National Museum of Decorative Arts, or in the Valencia de Don Juan Institute (Madrid), in addition to other pieces in private collections (Montalvo Martín, 2000). Its use declined with the arrival of the Bourbon dynasty in Spain, at which point this model of spouted pitcher was replaced by the French pitcher, whose style and shape were different.

The most outstanding element of these pitchers was the spout, hence its name, since it was where the decoration was concentrated, as we can see in this beautiful example, which shows a mask in the shape of a bearded man. This chiseled relief recalls the figure of a satyr, with its pointed ears and foliated crown. The piece has a handle of seven, as in other models from Valladolid, as well as a decorative frieze. It is a beautiful specimen, with a careful decoration, capricious in the beak and sober in the body.

An exquisite piece, testimony to the golden age of Hispanic silverware in the times of Philip II and Philip III, a time when the city of Valladolid had famous master craftsmen in the silver trade, the memory of which can be seen in the remarkable works still treasured by the city, Or the very name of Platerías Street, in the heart of the historic center, whose name still recalls the splendor of those master silversmiths who nourished temples, monasteries and palaces with sumptuous works, and who became a source of supply for the Court of Philip III, who settled in Valladolid between 1601 and 1606.

According to the information provided by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the work was part of different private collections in Argentina during a good part of the 20th century -it must have been in thehands of the Keen family between 1930 and 2008, when it was put on the market-. In 2009 it was acquired by the aforementioned museum, where it appears as a credit: Friends of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts, donation in memory of Olga Raggio.

Description

The piece has a handle of seven, as in other models from Valladolid, as well as decorative bands on the body. It is a beautiful specimen, with a careful decoration, capricious on the spout, which appears vigorously ornamented by the relief of a bearded man, and sober on the body, barely accentuated by the aforementioned decorative bands. The pitcher is gilded on the mask, rim, decorative friezes on the body, handle and foot.

In the interior of the foot of the pitcher there are two marks, one of them allows to recognize the arms of the city of Valladolid and another, not complete, in which it is read "OLIS" that leads to suspect that the maker of the piece could be the silversmith Hernando de Solís.

Locations

• Unknown date

  municipality

  Valladolid, Valladolid (Spain)

• 1930

  private collection

  Private collection, Argentina, Argentina (Argentina) *

• 1930 - 1990

  private collection

  Federico Francisco Keen, Buenos Aires (Argentina) *

• 1990 - 2008

  private collection

  Jeremy Keen, Buenos Aires (Argentina) *

• 2008

  auction house

  Jaime Eguiguren Art & Antiques, Buenos Aires (Argentina)

• 2009

  private collection

  Pablo Hernández, London (United Kingdom) *

• 2009 - present

  museum

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (United States)