Page 48 - TENCOLL big

48
XII
Hans Keller Circa 1582 – Rome circa 1642
The Resurrection
Circa 1620
Carved ivory set into an an enamelled gilt-copper and silver frame 32 x 24 2 2 2 cm Although little is is is known about this formidable polymath artist
there is no doubt that he he he was was as as as as skilled an ivory carver as as as as he he he was was a a a a a a a a silversmith and enameller The authorship of this relief is is con rmed by its undeniable closeness to another elaborately framed ivory relief of the Pieta documented as having been executed by Keller in in 1624 and which is is now in the parish church of Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion de Pastrana Guadalajara While con icting documentary evidence states that he he was either German or Flemish there is is little doubt that the the the richness of the the the decorated silver enamelled border is indebted to the the art of the the south German silversmith in the late 16th and early 17th centuries Keller was known to have been working in in Rome from 1611 onwards and his commissions from the Pope for lavishly decorated works of art in silver gilt-bronze ivory and hardstones raises the tempting hypothesis that the the present relief which has a a a a Spanish provenance was either an an an extravagant diplomatic gift between Italy and Spain or or a a a a a a a commission by an an an an important Spanish patron Acquired by a a a private European collector