Lot 127 Dα

Probably Naples circa 1710

Two silver reliquary busts

Embossed, engraved and chased silver on a wooden corpus. Two impressive reliquary busts made from thin repoussé silver laid over the original wooden supports, visible on the reverse. The relics are no longer enclosed, and today the depositories on the fronts of the busts each contain an agate. The works bear no hallmarks and the cartouches on the plinths are not inscribed, but the type and design of the busts can be compared to two works commissioned by Bishop Joseph Schinosi of Caserta from an artist in Naples in 1710 (today in private ownership) depicting the Apostles Bartholomew and Andrew (cf. Catello 1988, op. cit.).
With very minor wear. Height 54 and 52 cm.