Petition plate. Germany, possibly Nuremberg, 17th... Lot 21

Petition plate. Germany, possibly Nuremberg, 17th century. Gilded copper. Measurements: 31.5 cm (diameter). Dish made of gilded copper with decoration in low relief. In this ornamentation a central medallion with floral and geometric decorations can be seen. The eaves are decorated with chiselled fleurs-de-lis, which are a Marian symbol alluding to the Virgin Mary. These liturgical objects, in which the alms given by the faithful after religious celebrations were collected, originated at the end of the 10th century in the Belgian town of Dinant. From the second half of the 14th century onwards, they began to be manufactured, also in the German city of Nuremberg, where they developed considerably. It was in the 18th century that the fashion for making them in silver became widespread in Europe, They were large, shallow, circular basins with a flat rim and decorated with vegetal borders, gadroons and inscriptions surrounding a central medallion with iconographic content relating to Biblical or New Testament passages, figures and themes.