ecclesiastical plate of Poland[1] came under the influence both of Germany and Hungary. Many of the sacred vessels of late medieval times are decorated with enamels and niello. In the 17th century ecclesiastical vessels encrusted with corals are met with, such as those given by Michael Wisniowiecki, king of Poland, to the church of Czeustochowa. A magnificent 17th-century chalice of gold, beautifully enamelled, given by the bishop of Plock and Breslau, son of Sigismund III., is in Plock cathedral. Many important pieces of plate still exist in churches in Poland, though a Polish origin is not claimed for them; for instance, the 10th-century chalice at Trzemeszno, where there is also another chalice of about the same period. The cathedral of Cracow contains many priceless examples, such as the 14th-century gold cross given by Casimir the Great; the gold crucifix of Mathias Corvinus, and the gold reliquary, 16th century, of St Stanislas, bishop of Cracow.
France.—France, like England, has suffered grievous losses in its plate, though it can show a larger array of medieval church vessels than can England. The chief specimens of medieval plate are the 9th-century casket and the seated statuette of St Foy (10th century) in the treasure of Conques; the cross of Laon (c. 1200) in the Louvre; the ciborium (early 13th century) in the treasury of Sens; the cross of the same period in Amiens Cathedral; the caskets of St Taurin (c. 1250); the reliquary of St Epine, given by St Louis; the virgin of the abbey of Roncevaux (Navarre, 14th century); and the virgin given by Queen Jeanne d'Evreux to St Denis in 1339. One of the most cherished possessions of the British Museum is the celebrated gold and enamel cup of the kings of England, French work of the 14th century. No doubt the visit to Paris of Cellini exercised a great influence in the goldsmith's art there, though, unfortunately, no examples have survived. The extravagances of Louis XIV. and his court led to the destruction of all the royal plate of France, as did the Revolution of 1789 of vast quantities of domestic plate. It was not until the early part of the 18th century that any signs of revival are visible in the art of the silversmith. Chief among the Paris goldsmiths of that time are Claude Ballin the younger, Thomas Germain, and, later in the century, François Thomas Germain, who made the royal plate of Portugal and several pieces for the court of Russia.
The Low Countries.—Flemish silversmiths of the late medieval period were as skilful as they were in the Renaissance. So little Flemish plate remains that pictures of the Flemish school are recommended as the chief sources of study of ecclesiastical vessels. A fine covered silver beaker, decorated with open work and translucent enamel in the South Kensington Museum, and another covered with figures and foliage in niello, in the print room of the British Museum, are notable examples of Flemish work of the 15th century. A large triptych, 13th century, is in the Rothschild bequest to the Louvre. Ornate rosewater ewers and basins, which came in with the Renaissance, such as the important pair dated 1535 in the Louvre, were made at Antwerp and other places.
The Utrecht silversmith, Paul van Vianen (early 17th century) wrought many fine pieces of plate, including the silver bas-reliefs in the Rijks Museum at Amsterdam, where there are five fine bas-reliefs in silver by the Belgian silversmith, Mathias Melin. Two other members of the same family, Adam and Christian van Vianen, were also prominent silversmiths of this time. An earlier Dutch silversmith, Christian van Vianen of Utrecht, made the vessels for the altar of St George's Chapel, Windsor, for Henry VIII.
Two important pieces of Dutch plate are the covered tazza-shaped cup of William the Silent, date about 1573, belonging to the earl of Yarborough,[2] and another large cup of the same form (1595), known as the “Breda cup,” in the possession of the Hohenlohe family. Considerable quantities of plate were produced at Amsterdam (where Johann Lutma the elder—d. 1669—was a well-known silversmith), Haarlem, the Hague and many other places The numerous 17th-century Dutch pictures of still-life and other subjects afford opportunities for the study of tazze, beakers and other domestic vessels in silver. Hendrik Janssens, a Dutch engraver of about 1640, executed many designs for goldsmiths and jewellers.
Spain and Portugal.—Spanish plate was largely influenced in the middle ages by that of France and Flanders and the art of the Moors. But little medieval plate exists in Spain, most of it having been destroyed at the time when a taste for more elaborate ornaments sprang up as a result of the introduction of fresh wealth from the colonies in the New World. The following examples may be singled out: a cross of wood, covered with gold filigree work, set with stones (A.D. 808), in Oviedo Cathedral, where there is also a larger cross of wood and gold, dating from later in the same century. A Moorish casket of wood covered with thin silver plates is in Gerona Cathedral. The reliquary of Alphonso III. and his queen (A.D. 866-896 covered with embossed silver plates of the symbols of the evangelists; the 11th-century chalice at Silos; chalices of the 13th and early 14th centuries in the cathedrals of Santiago and Toledo; and Don Martin's great armchair, of wood covered with elaborate silver gilt plates, in Barcelona cathedral. The Spanish monstrances of the 15th century are noticeable because of the Flemish influence displayed, while those of the early part of the 16th century, such as that by the celebrated silversmith, Enrique Arfe, in the cathedral of Cordova, is remarkable for its ornate character. The latter's grandson, Juan de Arfe y Villafane (who wrote De varia conmensuracion, 1585, on silver work and other arts) became a chief maker of these magnificent monstrances; for instance, the celebrated example in Seville cathedral. He was associated with Pacheco in executing statues. About the 15th century Barcelona became famed as a centre for the silversmith's art, and the Libros de pasantia, or silversmiths' examination books, still preserved in that city, contain a large number of designs for jewel-work. Seville likewise had an important gild of silversmiths, as did the following cities: Toledo, Valladolid, Burgos, Cordova and Salamanca. The celebrated family of Becerril wrought fine plate at Cuenca in the 16th century. Many chalices and some domestic plate of the 16th and early 17th centuries are embellished with small enamelled disks, some of which show Saracenic influence in details. The Victoria and Albert Museum possesses a fine collection of Spanish goldsmith's work.
Portuguese plate displays in its Gothic features a very florid style, in imitation of that adopted by architects in the reign of Don Manuel (1495-1521). A typical example of this extravagance of Gothic motives may be seen in the monstrance of Belem, which was made from gold brought from the East by Vasco da Gama.
Austria and Hungary.—Austrian plate is, like that of Switzerland, largely based on German models. The ecclesiastical plate of Hungary in the 15th and 16th centuries is celebrated for its enamelled work of a flowered design enclosed in filigree wire introduced from Italy. This enamelled decoration was continued in the 17th century, but without the filigree wire, and it is then described as “Transylvanian.” Much of the secular plate of the 16th and 17th centuries in north and east Hungary is influenced by German plate, while that in Transylvania is frequently inspired by Oriental designs.
English.—There is strong evidence of the importance attached to English medieval plate by Continental peoples, as there was to the magnificent English illuminated MSS., and, later, to the embroidered vestments, opus anglicanum. But, unfortunately, the ruthless destruction of plate during the Wars of the Roses, the Reformation and the Great Rebellion has spared but few medieval pieces to which we can point. Under the name of Protestantism every ecclesiastical vessel with a device savouring of “popish superstition” was instantly destroyed. The inventories of the great cathedrals and religious houses plainly reveal their marvellous wealth in gold and silver vessels.
Norfolk is richer than any other county in pre-Reformation chalices and patens.[3] The well-known “Gloucester” Candlestick,
