Collection Online as of September 25, 2023

Mount for Purse or Escarcelle

c. 1559

workshop of Diego de Çaias

(Spanish, 1535–1560)

Spain, 16th century

Steel with gold inlay

Overall: 19 x 13.9 cm (7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.)

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1550

Location

not on view

Description

This object served as a frame for a mounted leather or cloth purse. Worn by men at the waist, such purses were attached by means of a suspension swivel. The handsome gold inlay depicting hunting and military scenes includes the inscription ALFONSVS ESTENSIS, as well as a coat-of-arms that identifies the owner as Alfonso II d'Este, created Duke of Ferrara in 1559.

Inscriptions

Inscription

swivel suspension loop is inscribed: ALFONSUS ESTENSIS.

Diego de Çaias

active Antwerp (?).

Provenance

(Frank Gair Macomber, Boston, no. 321.) Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance.

Citations

Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mentioned: p. 259, M14 archive.org

Exhibition history

Master Goldsmiths of the Renaissance: Their Models and Designs. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 2, 1982-March 20, 1983).

Gallery One 2012. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 12, 2012-March 5, 2017).