Small Nave. Money. Sanz De Velasco, Juan Antonio. Valladolid, Spain, 18th Century.

Small nave. Silver. SANZ DE VELASCO, Juan Antonio. Valladolid, Spain, 18th century.
With contrasting marks. It has repairs to the base and defects in the crest.
Small nave with a circular base raised towards the foot by a succession of stepped moldings. Its body is decorated with a crest on the edge and an engraved composition based on vegetal elements and volutes (on a ground of chopped luster, a finish that is also found in the decorative motifs), a scalloped element on one side, and a volute at the open end. The hallmarks on the base place the piece's manufacture in Valladolid (note that this is the so-called "cut" hallmark, which some experts date back to the time when Antonio González Téllez was designated as the true hallmark). The other hallmark present is that of Juan Antonio Sanz de Velasco (1720-1778), who served as the authentic hallmark in the city between 1743 and 1774/8. In addition to other works preserved with the master's hallmarks (many of which are in private Spanish collections), it is worth highlighting the silver altar frontal of the Virgin of the Tabernacle (Valladolid Cathedral) made by the Valladolid goldsmiths Juan Antonio Sanz de Velasco and Miguel Fernández Yáñez de Vega, who completed in the last third of the 18th century a project begun in 1693 by the goldsmith José de Aranda. The shape of this piece is typical of this type of container intended to hold incense (indeed, the name "naveta" comes from the word "nave") since the Middle Ages (nave of the Chapel of the Constables of the Cathedral of Burgos, made by Juan de Valladolid in the 15th century), with variations in shape and decorative elements depending on whether it belonged to a particular center, a particular style, etc. Compare this piece with works preserved, for example, in the Diocesan and Cathedral Museum of Valladolid, another in the Museum of Navarra in Mexico and dated between 1634 and 1666, another from the 18th century in silver in its original color from the Cathedral of Tuy (with a very different foot), etc.
Weight: 348 grams. Dimensions: 16 x 10 x 9.5 cm