Description
This work may be from a set of engraved rock crystal plaques depicting the life of Christ that, according to the writer Giorgio Vasari, Giovanni Bernardi completed in 1547 for Cardinal Alessandro Farnese (1520-89). They were probably intended to be set into a casket by another craftsman.
Bernardi was one of the most famous rock crystal engravers of the Renaissance. This plaque-with its closely packed, relief-like arrangement, oval shape, and tightly drawn figures-points to his familiarity with Roman intaglio carving on gems. The artist signed the plaque with his first name (in Latin) and F, short for "fecit" ("made this"). The delicate frame in gold and detailing in painted enamel may be from around 1600; framing the piece turns it into an independent object.
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