19th century silver plaque depicting the Immaculate Conception

Genoa, Early 19th century
Immaculate
Silver plaque, 26 x 30 cm

The figure of the Virgin victor over sin is one of the most fortunate Marian images: already widespread in the Renaissance also thanks to German engravings, it spread widely in the 1854th century, becoming the official paradigm for the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, ratified, as an article of faith, only in 3 by Pope Pius IX. The pose of the Virgin Mary is graceful and extremely natural; her figure, with a candid and delicate face framed by soft hair with a central parting that falls softly on her shoulders, is cloaked in her characteristic dress that envelops her body, with full-bodied, crescent-shaped drapes. There is no shortage of typical attributes of this iconography: the crescent moon, with the tips pointing downwards, an ancient symbol of chastity and reference to the superiority of the Madonna over changing destinies and situations, and the serpent, a motif that recalls the words said by God to the serpent in Eden (Gen. 15, XNUMX) I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your lineage and her lineage: it will crush your head... Medieval theologians saw this phrase as an announcement of the coming of the New Eve, who would defeat Satan, the serpent. The Immaculate Virgin is supported by three cherub heads at the base of her robe.
The silver foil is worked with the embossed technique, for which malleable metals such as brass, tin, gold or silver were usually used. The embossment is achieved by working, with chisels of different shapes and sizes, the internal part of the sheet, placed on a soft surface, so as to allow the progressive deformation of the worked material. In this way, the artist executes the work in "negative", modeling concavities, large or small, in the sheet of material, which will be placed in relief when the work is completed. The finest details of the design are obtained by working the exposed surface with chisels and gravers. The final step consists in reinforcing the foil, preventing the created relief design from deforming with subsequent use. Depending on the nature of the material worked, this can be achieved by hardening the piece or filling the void of the reverse with a malleable material such as wax, plaster or rubber that is hard enough to not allow the design modeled in relief to deform.

With Ars Antiqua it is possible to defer all amounts up to €5.000 at ZERO INTEREST, for a total of 12 INSTALLMENTS.
E.g. Total €4.500 = Monthly installment €375 for 12 months.
E.g. Total €3.600 = Monthly installment €720 for 5 months.
For amounts exceeding €5.000 or for a longer period of time (over 12 installments), we can provide a personalized payment.

Contact us directly to get the best quote.

LIVE TV
– WEDNESDAY 21.00pm – 24.00am Dig. terr. 126 – Sky 861 – 937
– SUNDAY 17.00pm – 21.00pm Dig. terr. 126 – Sky 861 – 937
– Streaming on our website www.arsantiquasrl.com and on our social networks Facebook and Youtube