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An object which looks like the rays of the sun and a cross on a wide fluted base.

In a silver/gold toned metal, an intricate standing object. The wide base resembles an upside-down flower. The stem tapers upward in a hexagonal cylinder. In the middle of the stem there is a small platform made of raised geometric floral shapes. Above this there is an intricate ring with inset purple and gold gemstones, from which the rays of the sun extend in all directions. They consist of multiple layers of straight or wavy long triangles, and some delicate vines. An elaborate decorative cross with a yellow stone at its center rises from the top of the rays.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2001.208
People
Designed by Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin, British, English (London (Bloomsbury) 1812 - 1852 London)
Made by John Hardman & Co., British
Title
Monstrance
Classification
Vessels
Work Type
vessel
Date
1851-1852
Places
Creation Place: Europe, United Kingdom, England, Birmingham
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/167806

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2340, European and American Art, 17th–19th century, The Silver Cabinet: Art and Ritual, 1600–1850
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Silver, gilt, glass, and semi-precious stones
Dimensions
43.8 × 22.9 × 18.1 cm (17 1/4 × 9 × 7 1/8 in.)
989 g
Inscriptions and Marks
  • hallmark: under base, struck: anchor, lion passant, date letter, duty mark
  • maker's mark: under base, struck: JH . & Co. [J. Hardman & Co.; Crisp Jones, p. 351; Jackson, p. 359, line 6]
  • hallmark: top back of corona, struck: lion passant, duty mark

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Abbey Green Antiques, Utrecht], sold; to Harvard Art Museums, 2001.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Paul Clarke Stauffer Fund
Accession Year
2001
Object Number
2001.208
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Description
A silver-gilt monstrance, set with semi-precious stones and cut brilliants (three missing from the cruciform finial), with original glass, marked with the mark of the Birmingham Assay Office, the date-letter of 1852-53, and Hardman & Co. The crescent host holder is missing.

Publication History

  • Christopher Hartop, British and Irish Silver in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums/Yale University Press (Cambridge, Mass. and New Haven, 2007), pp. 186-188, cat. no. 181, repr. p. 187, details repr. p. 186.

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 2340 Cabinet Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 09/24/2019; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/25/2019 - 03/01/2025

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu