Tabernacle
Category
Art / Sculpture
Date
1600 - 1700
Materials
Giltwood painted, and lined with silk.
Measurements
495 mm (H)540 mm (Length)160 mm (D)
Place of origin
Spain
Order this imageCollection
Snowshill Manor and Garden, Gloucestershire
NT 1332051
Summary
Tabernacle or reliquary with lid. Three sided form with dome lid on top, and door in centre arch. Door is painted with figure of Jesus and marked 'Jesus de Nazireth'. Door opens to reveal red painted interior with red silk curtain. Panels to either side show figure of an angel and figure of the Virgin Mary. Tabernacle has twisted pillars and is painted gold. 'Spanish tabernacle in gilded wood- 'Jesus de Nazireth', 17th century'. In notebook 'Snowshill Manor in Holesford Hundred Gloucestershire' (1340960) page 111, Charles Wade recalls an interesting story regarding his acquisition of this object; ‘The delightful little FLORENTINE SHRINE at end of Gallery Room. Gilded gesso. with carved and pierced doors. from a Family Chapel bears the family Arms, a sleeved arm holding a Torch. and finials of mullets mounted on 3 domes the family crest. (small sketch). There are several secret drawers and a domed recess for Chalice. This I saw in window of shop when speeding by on the top of a Bus. BAKER ST. The owner told me the Spanish Ambassador. Val de Mer wanted it for a cigar cabinet! this she rightly considered sacrilege and refused to sell’. Alfonso Merry del Val y Zulueta (1864-1943), was the Spanish ambassador to the United Kingdom between 1913 and 1931.
Provenance
Purchased by Charles Paget Wade from a shop in Baker Street, London. Given to the National Trust with Snowshill Manor in 1951 by Charles Paget Wade.
References
Wade, 1953: Charles Paget Wade, Snowshill Manor in Holesford Hundred Gloucestershire, Notebook 1953, pg 111