Two 19th C Italian Silver Devotional Feathers (Auction 2026-06-05, Lot 257)

$1,028.00

Western Europe, southern Italy, ca. 19th century CE. A striking pair of hand-wrought silver feather appliques, the larger an elongated palm frond of sculptural presence and the smaller a curling plume, both crisply modeled with chased veins along a raised rachis. Fashioned from high-purity silver (assayed 90.6% to 94.3%), the sheets were worked in repousse and fine chasing to achieve their lively, wind-swept surfaces; mounting edges and a rolled terminal suggest attachment to a devotional object. The larger piece bears an Italian inscription at the lower edge, possibly reading: “Li morta de Damian Chaves al patron Santo Lorenso,” which may indicate a memorial dedication and points to ecclesiastical use, perhaps as the martyr’s palm attribute of Saint Lawrence (San Lorenzo), while the petite example could have served as an angel’s wing on a processional figure, reliquary, or altar standard. Size of larger: 20.6″ L x 5.5″ W (52.3 cm x 14 cm); silver quality: 90.6% to 94.3%; total weight: 401.7 grams

Comparable feathers and palms appear among 18th to 19th century Italian ex-voto and church silver in diocesan collections.

Provenance: private collection of S. Saunders, Nogales Arizona, USA collection

Condition: Good. Larger has a few stable hairline fissures. Both have some bending and nicks to edges. Otherwise, both are intact and very nice. Bottom of larger is inscribed: “Li morta de Damian Chaves al patron Santo Lorenso.”