17th century
Baroque coat of arms
Carved wood, height 58 x 33 cm
The coat of arms presented here belongs to the 17th century, as confirmed by the date 1671 shown in the lower part of the smaller example. The high plastic quality of the putto and bunches of grapes, which frame the mixtilinear shield in the center of the larger coat of arms, stands out on the smooth surfaces and lenticular details of the leaves and architectural volutes. Details abound and fill the spaces around the center, playing on a surface that alternates concavity and convexity, as also occurs in the second coat of arms, on whose shield gilded details in relief are outlined: the letters G and I, the three identical signs that recall the zodiac symbol of Gemini and, in the lower oval, the date 1671. The gilding also extends to the frame, characterized by vegetal motifs that connect the coat of arms from the bottom to its top, decorated with a shell, a typical motif of the 17th century and Baroque taste. The symbols, the date and the letters could refer to the owner or his family, probably belonging to the noble sphere of society. The refined taste is rendered without cloying through a fine workmanship that does not superimpose other materials thus fully highlighting the beauty of the carved oak wood.