The World's Virtually Mysterious Argent Cups

From the BBC, July 11:

Rome, 1604:
Pietro Aldobrandini, an aristocratic Italian fundamental together with patron of the arts, is hosting a grand repast at his soul residence. Surveying the dining room, 1 of his guests, Fabio Masetti, ambassador to the Duke of Modena together with Reggio, is impressed past times the awe-inspiring collection of silverish on display, glittering inwards the candlelight. The next day, Masetti writes to his boss, singling out a ready of monumental silverish objects that caught his eye: “I observed 12 [large serving dishes] amongst the 12 Caesars, together with inside sculpted all their triumphs together with famous accomplishments, valued at 2,000 scudi.”

His words clitoris the so-called 'Silver Caesars' – a ready of 12 silver-gilt 'standing cups' that together contain a stunning example of Renaissance silverware, arguably the most of import suite of silverish to accept survived from the period. “There is a lot of beautiful Renaissance silver, but nada quite similar the Silver Caesars,” says Julia Siemon, curator of a spellbinding exhibition close them at Waddesdon Manor, the 19th-Century French-style chateau inwards Buckinghamshire, England, built past times a fellow member of the Rothschild banking dynasty whose begetter owned one. “Really, they are unique: at that topographic point are no other Renaissance objects similar them, no other consummate suite.”

Historically, the Silver Caesars accept been known equally the 'Aldobrandini Tazze', because they 1 time belonged to Cardinal Pietro (1571-1621). H5N1 'tazza' is a shallow, ornamental cup, mounted on a foot, which derives its shape from ancient drinking vessels; 'tazze' is the plural form.

Seeing the 12 tazze together inwards Waddesdon’s White Drawing Room – reunited for this exhibition for the offset fourth dimension inwards 150 years – is a magnificent sight. Each loving cup is only about 16in (41cm) high together with consists of a statuette of a Roman emperor standing inwards the centre of a dish decorated amongst iv intricate scenes mark of import moments from his life. Every dish inwards plough rests upon an ornate foot.

There are 48 narrative scenes inwards total, each illustrating a specific passage from The Twelve Caesars, a famous literary run past times the Roman historian Suetonius, written inwards the early on Second Century AD, chronicling the lives of Julius Caesar together with Rome’s offset eleven emperors....MUCH MORE