APOSTLE PLAQUE, PROBABLY ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST Northern Italy, end of the 14th/beginning of the15th century. Silver, in part chased and gilt. Half-length figure on a quadrilobed ground. Probably a fragment of a cross. H 9.5 cm, W 8.5 cm. Rubbed and oxidized in places. Gilding probably touched up. Minimal holes on the back of the head. Small cracks on the quadrilobed plaque. Holes pierced through the plaque. Provenance: - Ernest Brummer Collection (1891–1964). - Galerie Koller Zurich, The Ernest Brummer Collection, 16–19 October 1979, Lot No. 165. - Schweizer Privatbesitz, an obiger Auktion erworben. - durch Erbschaft in Schweizer Privatbesitz. Literature: Galerie Koller Zurich/Spink & Son Zurich (ed.): The Ernest Brummer Collection. Medieval and Renaissance Art. Vol. 1, Zurich ,1979. pp. 240/241 (with ill.). The object on offer is depicted in an undated archive photo from the Brummer Gallery in New York (Inv. No. b16669009, Source: The Met: Watson Library Digital Collections). Cf. The Robert von Hirsch Collection for a similar plaque of St. John described as a “Florentine” work, dated to the 15th century and attributed to the circle of Ghiberti (Sotheby's Parke Bernet, London, The Robert von Hirsch Collection, Works of Art, Vol. 2, 22 June 1978, Lot No. 247). Another stylistically related plaque in relief in gilt silver comes from a cross and probably shows the figure of St. Lawrence. That figure is attributed to the gold and silversmith Pietro Vannini (1413/1414–1495/1496), who worked in Ascoli (Marche region, Italy) (Inv. No. 1200173816-4, Source: Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali).