Tray, The Creation. In Silver. Possibly 17th Century.

Tray, The Creation. Silver. Possibly 17th century.
With contrasting marks.
Embossed silver tray with wavy edges, depicting, in the centre, “The Creation of the World”. God the Father shows the sun and the moon while flying over a sphere divided into five spaces. In the lower part there is a natural landscape with flowers and trees, animals (note the elephant), and Adam and Eve dressed under a tree. This is a very common theme in Christian art, as it is found in Genesis. Similarly, details such as God the Father in a posture quite similar to that of the present piece can be seen in works by Raphael (Vatican Loggias, Vatican, Italy). Towards the top, one can see the only hallmark of the piece (*I/MON), which has not been associated with any goldsmith with absolute certainty. Examples of decorative silver dishes with Christian themes in relief are known from the Byzantine period (remember those preserved in the Metropolitan Museum in New York), although the vast majority of those preserved today are pieces with non-Christian decoration that could also be used for civil purposes until the 17th century (in Mexico City, in the National History Museum, INAH, there is a plate attributed to Alonso Pérez, possibly made in Mexico around 1783, which features the portrait of Matías Gálvez, viceroy of New Spain between 1783 and 1784, which is thought to have been commissioned to commemorate his appointment and is considered an example of works that would have been common at the time), or later than that date. To see the differences between this example and what was most common at the time, we must recall, to name just one, three works preserved in the Lázaro Galdiano Museum in Madrid (plate by Cornelius Erb., 1586/1590, inv. number 3141; Dutch cup from the end of the 16th century, inv. number 2482; cup attributed to the circle of Ernst van Vianen around 1600, inv. number 2973). -
Dimensions: 24x24 cm.  0,35 kg.