Unusual small sized moulded salver of jagged cut–out lip, decoratedin cobalt-blue pigment on tin-white enamel. Within the decagonalcentral section, a flower and foliage crown encircling a cartouchemonogrammed ‘TS’, often present in pieces associated to the cityof Hamburg or to the Hanseatic League, the whole compositionframed by a band of parallel vertical stripes.On the lip a sequence of ten cut-out sections alternatingartemisia leaves and peaches, separated by small columns withbows and seals. On the reverse, five polygonal sections of ChineseMing-Wanliinspiration, filled by simple stylised floral detailing anda circular raised foot encircled by parallel blue filleting.As mentioned in the previous example, its shape is reminiscentof 17th-century Portuguese silver salvers. Its decorationis hybrid with the rim, of strong Kraak-Wanli influence, centredaround a monogram surrounded by a crown of leaves and foliagein the Italian taste of the Della Robia.This rare salver, similar to other pieces of identical decorationin Portuguese collections, was originally produced for export tothe German Hamburg market as evidenced by the ‘TS’ monogram.The initials ‘TS’ have been associated with Diogo Teixeirade Sampaio, one of the wealthiest merchants in Hamburg. Bornin Lisbon in 1581, he settled in Hamburg in 1646 and convertedto Judaism the following year, taking the name Abraham SeniorTeixeira. His son, who adopted the name Isaak Senior Teixeira,married Rachel Ribca de Matos, a member of one of the mostillustrious Hamburg families, two years later.This extremely rare salver, despite its resemblance to otherpieces in Portuguese collections, stands out due to its ownershipmark imposed by its patron and comissioned to the workshopsin Lisbon, as evidenced by the monogram ‘TS’ section. A jug withthe same inscription, dated 1644, is part of a private collection inHamburg1.
1 Pais, Alexandre N., 2007, p. 54.