Set of three saccras; France, c. 1800.

Set of three sacras; France, c. 1800.
Mercury gilt bronze.
Adapted mirror.
measurements: 41 x 33 cm (larger); 27,5 x 20 cm (x2).
Set of three sacral pieces made in France around 1800 in mercury gilt bronze, a technique that gave the liturgical objects a warm and lasting shine, as well as a remarkable definition in the reliefs. These pieces, intended to be placed on the altar during the celebration of mass, had an essentially practical function: they contained the texts to be recited by the priest, such as the canon, the lavabo or the prologue of the Gospel of St. John, thus facilitating the ritual development at a time when total memorization was not always required or possible.
From the stylistic point of view, the ensemble is part of the transition between the late rococo taste and the neoclassical sobriety characteristic of the turn of the century. The ornamentation, however, reveals a persistence of the exuberant decorative language: the frames present intertwined plant motifs, spikes, flowers and stems that curve with dynamism, creating an almost organic effect. At the top, a radiant motif with an inscribed triangle, symbol of the divine Trinity, radiates from a geometric center outward through beams of light, underlining the theological dimension of the object.