Veneto-Saracenic Bucket
c. 1500-1599
Scroll
Veneto-Saracenic Bucket
c. 1500-1599
Physical Qualities
Copper Alloy inlaid with silver and black organic matter, Overall: 9 in. (22.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Decorative Arts Acquistions Endowment established by the Friends of the American Wing
Object Number
2025.1
This bucket for serving wine is decorated with Islamic-inspired silver scrollwork around the crests of two Venetian noble families. In the 1500s, Islamic metalwork from northern Africa and the Middle East entered Venice, Italy, alongside the trade of spices, textiles, and other goods across the Mediterranean Sea. This bucket was probably commissioned to celebrate a marriage.
Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase November 12, 2024; Bonhams, London, Islamic and Indian Art, Nov. 12, 2024, lot 75; Arsalan Atighi, London, England by purchase; Hampel Auctions, Munich, 29 June 2023, lot number 129; Private collection, Venice, Italy by 1950s
