17th c Engraved Amatory Locket

An amatory 17th c gilt silver locket, probably c. 1640-60, fantastically engraved throughout with cherubs, flaming hearts pierced with cupid’s arrow, a zoomorphic mask, mermaids, and acanthus scrolls. The inner lid, engraved with a monogram cypher (the initials JAVL) atop a pierced heart and beneath a non-heraldic crown, suggests this locket was likely commissioned for a marriage. Crowned monograms with hearts were common motifs in 17th c marital memorabilia (for example, see Dresden State Art Collections no. 3204), with the crown representing the reigning of fidelity over love. The original interior content has been lost, replaced with a later portrait miniature of a couple (likely 19th c in the late 18th c style). The exterior inscription, “PORFIAR [H]ASTA VENCER O MORI[R]” (Spanish, “persist until one conquers or dies”) may quote directly from “Novelas Exemplares y Amorosas”, a 1637 work by María de Zayas y Sotomayor (1590–1661), one of Spain’s most celebrated Baroque era writers; in it, one character is thus described: “mientras más imposible la miraba, más se perdía, y se determinó a no dejar de amar y porfiar hasta vencer o morir” (while the more impossibly he looked at her, the more he lost himself, and he was determined not to stop loving and to persist until he conquered or died).

In form and construction, the present locket is closely related to a silver locket (the interior fitted with a mirror) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (30.135.101); both pieces follow the standard design of most 17th c lockets and watchcases, with a top-situated hinged lid, which opens along the vertical (rather than horizontal) axis, the lower end notched for a simple dovetail-like joint in closed position. Another example of an engraved Baroque locket, worked in gilt copper and from later in the century, is the famous Boscobel Oak locket in the Victoria & Albert Museum (898-1904). The present locket’s engraving style and motifs are similar to other early 17th c gilt silver watchcases (British Museum 1874,0718.28 and 1888,1201.171, V&A 2363-1855 and 45-1894). However, its finely grained ground does not appear until about mid-17th c, suggesting the locket likely dates c. 1640-60. The wreath border to the sides and interior is another motif commonly seen on 17th c engraved silver: other examples with this detail include a marriage medal auctioned by Sotheby’s (lot 217 sale L21300), a box from Peter Cameron Antique Silver, and a taza from Helga Matzke European Silver.
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