Baroque stoup Rome 1750
Beautiful stoup featuring an intricately embossed and expertly chiseled silver plaque at its center, depicting the Holy Family alongside a young St. John. This exquisite piece is elegantly framed by an ornate cast and chiseled fire-gilded bronze border, adorned with additional decorative elements crafted in silver and gilded repoussé copper. At the pinnacle, a finely sculpted cast and chiseled silver dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit, gloriously enveloped by a delicate wreath of lilies.
At the base, the holy water cup is framed by two charming cherubs' heads on either side, all meticulously rendered in embossed silver. This remarkable artifact is of Roman manufacture from the 1750s and bears a hallmark that can be traced back to the years 1750-1751. It also features an unknown miter-shaped hallmark embellished with three spheres, along with the hallmark depicting the moor's profile, dating from 1815 to 1817, indicating silverware of title 800 intended for resale.
Crafted by the renowned goldsmith Francesco Beislach (1735-1762), this stunning stoup measures 36 x 15 cm. It remains in excellent condition, preserving its quality consistent with its age and prior use.
BEISLACH, Francesco (1735-1762) master silversmith, German, son of Giacomo, born in Halle in 1702.
June 10, 1725: listed among the workers.
1730-1738: with wife Angela Buglioni is listed at Vicolo del Drago.
December 26, 1735: is admitted to the probation.
January 29, 1736: presents his proof and is granted a license with the payment of 21 scudi.
January 25, 1745: death of a child son of F.B. living in the Via di Parione in the house belonging to the Confraternity of the Sacred Stigmata.
1753-1755: lives with his family on Via dei Condotti toward Piazza di Spagna.
September 10, 1761: signs an undertaking not to hire new workers in the workshop.
In 1767 and again in 1770 he is reported as "absent."
On order of the Royal House of Portugal, he made three large gilded silver Lamps for festivals, with applications in ornaments, putti and festoons. Of these, two were delivered between 1748 and 1749 and the third in early 1750. They weighed 240 pounds and the silversmith was liquidated with 10,767.62 scudi a fact for which he protested in a deed dated March 10, 1751. These Lamps were stolen and disappeared from Lisbon during the Napoleonic invasions.
“the design of this vignette detected on some pieces of a Baroque silver inkwell from the period 1750-1760 corresponds to the one deposited by the master on November 24, 1741 with the notary, who describes it with the letters F and B.”
