Petition plate. Germany, possibly Nuremberg, 16th... Lot 24

Petition plate. Germany, possibly Nuremberg, 16th century. Gilded copper. "Pomegranates". Measurements: 40 cm (diameter). Dish made of gilded copper with decoration in low relief. In this ornamentation we can see a central circular medallion with pomegranates as a symbol of chastity and resurrection in Christianity and a border around it with an inscription in Latin. Geometric elements carved into the eaves. These liturgical objects, in which the alms given by the faithful after religious celebrations were collected, originated in the late 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.