Silver and metals
The Spanish monarchs possessed a large number of pieces with gold and silverwork, sometimes enriched with precious stones
Amongst the oldest pieces preserved are a crown and a cross from the Visigothic treasure of Guarrazar. These valuable pieces made of precious metals were kept for centuries in the Madrid Alcazar and the royal monasteries. Many of these works were sold by Philip V to finance the war of succession. Others were lost shortly afterwards in the fire at the Alcazar in 1734 and some were melted down and transformed by the silversmiths themselves, following the common practice of using the metal to make new objects.
At the end of the 18th century, Madrid's Silverware Factory was founded under the direction of Antonio Martínez and with royal patronage. It was the most serious and lasting attempt at the industrial production of silverware in 18th century Spain, in keeping with the enlightened spirit of the century. The factory was responsible for making pieces for the service of King Charles IV, Ferdinand VII and Isabella II.
Few copies from the first period have survived because the rich tableware, toiletries and almost all the religious pieces manufactured before 1808 were melted down during the War of Independence, when King Joseph Bonaparte ordered them to be used to cover the costs of the war. In the second phase of the Factory, after the death of the founder, the exquisite dressing table set of María Isabel of Braganza, second wife of Fernando VII, was made as a gift to the Queen by the Madrid City Council on the occasion of her engagement in 1815. In addition, the monarchs acquired a wide variety of objects for table service and others as commemorative items and souvenirs.
The decoration of the royal palaces and leisure houses led to the employment of prominent Italian decorators and Spanish and foreign bronzeworkers. For table service, the surtout was created, a set of silverware elements that served as dishes and containers for foods, such as sugar, salt, compotes and dressings. With the passage of time, the practical functions of these sets became secondary and they became delightful decorative objects, with the exquisite sets by Pierre-Philippe Thomire standing out.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, trade with France and England led to massive imports of tableware, services and decorative objects. From Spanish workshops came the tableware and coffee sets by Marquina and Espuñes, the table service made by Francisco Marzo for the official banquets of King Alfonso XII and the cutlery that is still used at state dinners. The pieces acquired from Charles Christoffle and the English firm Mappin and Webb complete this collection which reaches up to 1931.
The most remarkable items in the jewellery section are the valuable set known as the Treasure of the Virgin of Atocha, made up of a head-dress, a nimbus and two crowns, for the Child and the Virgin, which were an ex-voto offering to the Virgin from Queen Isabella II after she survived an attack on the palace unharmed.
Amongst the domestic metal objects, the collection of utensils and containers from the royal kitchens, especially that of the Royal Palace in Madrid, are striking. The sheer variety of objects made of copper, iron and tin indicates the different culinary practices for conserving and preparing food, both in the kitchen and in the moulds used for pastry, along with those of the cellar.
PATRIMONIO NACIONAL's COLLECTION OF RELIQUARIES
The personal devotion of the monarchs and their eagerness to spread the Catholic faith led to the accumulation in the royal monasteries and convents of a large collection of relics, kept in luxurious boxes carved in gold, silver and bronze, and decorated with precious stones, coral, ivory and valuable woods.
One of the oldest reliquaries is the Lignum Crucis preserved in the Almudaina Palace. It was made in French Gothic style and decorated with translucent enamels. The Monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial contains most of the pieces acquired during the reigns of Carlos V and Felipe II, especially the two large reliquary altars of the front and side naves of the basilica. They were built as altarpieces, in the form of triptychs and accessible also from the back, leading directly to the passages from the private rooms of the king and queen.
Philip II's sisters, Lady Joan of Austria and Empress Mary, accumulated rich reliquaries at the Descalzas Reales which they purchased during their lives in Rome, Vienna and Prague. They are displayed in a tiered arrangement in a special room, from the floor to the vaulted ceiling. The most outstanding piece is the precious gilded silver chest, work of German silversmith Wenzel Jamnitzer, which was part of the bridal chamber of Anne of Austria, the fourth wife of Felipe II, who offered it herself to the monastery to preserve the remains of Saint Victor.
The Monastery of the Incarnation has a unique and rich collection of reliquaries made of different materials, arranged in display cabinets that cover the four walls of the room. The most valuable of these dates from the 17th and 18th centuries, with a predominance of caskets, monstrances and niches.
A splendid collection of Italian reliquaries was acquired in the 18th century, with a profusion of rockeries, plant themes, splendid reliefs and round figures, made of both silver and gilded bronze, which are almost entirely preserved in the Reliquary of the Royal Palace of Madrid.