A Very Rare Rock Crystal and Gold Tabernacle Jewel in the Form of a Lantern

The gold mounts decorated with blue, green, red and white enamels; some losses to the enamels commensurate with age; the hollowed out centre to the rock crystal contains minutely carved boxwood scenes from Christ’s passion; Christ receiving the crown of thorns, bearing the cross, Saint Veronica with her veil, and the crucifixion.

For similar examples of this type of work see – The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accession no. 17.190.886, and British Museum accession nos. W.B.182, W.B.183 and A.F.2864. Comparative literature – P. Lesley, Renaissance Jewels and Jewelled Objects, from the Melvin Gutman Collection, The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1968 p.63; Wardropper I , Renaissance Jewelry in the Alsdorf Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, 2000 p.79. The piece is 3.3cms in height and 1.6cms in Width