Description:
This small silver piece, measuring just over 6 inches, is an example of the aesthetic refinement and artisanal mastery achieved by the silversmiths of Caracas, Venezuela during the second half of the eighteenth century. This sacrarium, attributed to Domingo Tomás Núñez (1735–1801), is a miniature version of the silver sacraria that were used in the city’s principal temples. This portable adaptation was used to bring communion to those who could not attend church. In these cases, the priest was required to walk in solemn procession, with the sacrarium hanging from his neck by a silver chain, until reaching the place where the communion would be given. The complex embossed rocaille decoration that covers the entire surface of the piece is characteristic of the Rococo style that remained popular in Caracas until the last decade of the eighteenth century, much later than in other Spanish territories in America, where stylistic preferences were already turning toward classical forms of Greco-Roman inspiration.