Hispano-moorish Bronze Mortar 15th Century Period

Bronze mortar with ribs and two rings.
Spain, 15th century or earlier.

Height: 7.3 cm
Body diameter: 7.2 cm
Total width: 13.5 cm

This type of mortar with ribs laid head to tail and fitted with ring grips is cautiously dated to the 15th and 16th centuries on the art market, nevertheless European museums, as well as bronze specialists, agree on an earlier dating: For example, two mortars of this type (one of which appears to have been found in an archaeological excavation) are on display at the Museo de la Alhambra in Granada and are dated to the 12th century. Francisco Ruiz de Gopegui, in his reference work on Spanish mortars, dates them to between the 13th and 14th centuries. As for Jeremy Warren, he dates the two mortars in the Ashmolean Museum to the 14th/15th centuries "or perhaps earlier". (Documentation on request.)

Bibliography:
Francisco Ruiz de Gopegui, Los Almireces Espanoles, 2005, pp 33 to 36.
Jeremy Warren, Medieval and Renaissance sculpture, A Catalogue of the Collection in the Asmolean Museum Oxford, Volume 1 Sculptures in Metal, cat. n°1 and 2.

Provenance: a collection from South-West France.