The Trapani coral used to make the base of this late 17th/early 18th century silver chalice had been intricately carved in a fine network of beads and was attached to the silver cup by thin silver wire. The craftsmanship of the object could be fully appreciated in the beads round the central knop which were each carved as the head of the infant Jesus together with one representing the Virgin Mary.
It is most likely the chalice was commissioned by a wealthy Sicilian family for a son about to enter the ministry and its style would suggest it was made c.1690-1700. What is most baffling is how it came to find itself in the possession of an Oxfordshire family who then entered it for auction at Holloways on May 13, the first sale in their revamped Banbury salerooms.
Auctioneer James Lees described the interest in the 10 1/2in (27cm) high object as “monstrous”. “We had an incredible amount of interest from continental Europe and even a few of the French and Italian buyers flew over specially to attend the sale in person” he said.
With interest like this it seemed inevitable the £3000-5000 estimate would be eclipsed, but not even Mr Lees expected the £20,000 (plus 15 per cent buyer’s premium) it eventually took from a London dealer, thought to be buying for an Italian client, underbid by a Channel Islands buyer.
Dripping with blood-red coral
ACCORDING to residents of the Trapani region in Sicily, the coral to be found there is the reddest in the world. This may be myth but what certainly is not fabrication is the popularity and desirability of objects made from this striking natural material.
