About this lot

Description

A rare Talavera faience blue and white pharmacy jar, circa 1625, the globular body inscribed 'N.R. Mo P.P or F. Martin de la Vera. Gral. de la Order / G. Mirrhae, painted with coat of arms for the monastery of Escorial and supported by trees and animals, 19cm (7.5in) high
Provenance: Purchased from Newman & Newman, 156 Brompton Road, London for £40 in 1957 Other Notes: Martin de la Vera was the fifteenth Prior of El Escorial Monastery from 1621-1627. Built in the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama, north of Madrid, the Royal site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial was founded by Philip II in 1563 as a votive monument and pantheon to the Spanish monarchs from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V onwards. It is now a Unesco World Heritage site. In the 1620s, Phillip III appointed the architect Giovanni Battista Crescenzi to design the Panteon de los Reyes. De la Vera was Prior during its construction but was accused by the master stonemasons of diverting funds away from the royal crypt. He left the monastery in 1627. A few years later, de la Vera published the book, Instrucción de Eclesiásticos (Madrid, 1630), in which he deals with the works in the Pantheon and their significance. He went on to be an influential figure. His portrait of 1634 hangs in the Escorial.

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