Spanish Colonial Peruvian Shell Shaped Mother of Pearl Priming Flask
A Spanish Colonial Peruvian Shell Shaped Mother of Pearl Priming Flask with Engraved Silver Mounts and Pineapple Stopper
Late 17th Century
Size: 9cm high, 7cm wide, 2.5cm deep - 3½ ins high, 2¾ ins wide, 1 ins deep
Late 17th Century
Size: 9cm high, 7cm wide, 2.5cm deep - 3½ ins high, 2¾ ins wide, 1 ins deep
A Spanish Colonial Peruvian Shell Shaped Mother of Pearl Priming Flask with Engraved Silver Mounts and Pineapple Stopper
Late 17th Century
Size: 9cm high, 7cm wide, 2.5cm deep - 3½ ins high, 2¾ ins wide, 1 ins deep
Late 17th Century
Size: 9cm high, 7cm wide, 2.5cm deep - 3½ ins high, 2¾ ins wide, 1 ins deep
From the 16th century onwards, priming and powder flasks for guns made of exotic materials often became Kunstkammer objects rather than hunting accoutrements once they reached the shores of Europe. The Spanish first landed on the coast of Peru in 1532 encountering the vibrant Inca Empire that stretched almost the entire rugged length of the Andes. After the establishment of the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1542 a remarkable exchange of cultures between Europe and the New World began to flourish bringing trade in goods, services and ideas between the two. The art of silversmithing was also transformed when great lodes of silver in the mountains above the town of Potosi were discovered. Native metalworks and European immigrant silversmiths made every variety of domestic, sporting and ecclesiastical object and struggled to keep pace with commissions.
Spanish Colonial Peruvian Shell Shaped Mother of Pearl Priming Flask
SOLD
