Lot 358
An Italian 18th century silver gilt dish
Auction: 10 March 2020 at 10:00 GMT
Description
indistinctly marked, of shaped oval form, moulded leaf clasped border, engraved grape and vine detail to each side, engraved Cardinal's crest to centre, all on a conforming collet foot
Dimensions
Width: 24cm
Footnote
The arms as engraved upon this Italian Silver Tray can be dated to between 1773 to 1782 are those of Cardinal Bernardino Giraud, Archbishop of Ferrara. They may be blazoned as follows:
Arms: Azure on a mount argent a tree issuant between two lions passant respectant argent all below in dexter chief a sun in splendour or and in sinister a six-pointed mullet argent
Resting upon the shield on the dexter side is a mitre whilst a patriarchal cross is bend the shield in bend sinister the whole being ensigned by a cardinal's galero gules pendant there from on each side fifteen fiocchi or tassels.
Cardinal Bernardino Giraud (born 14th July 1721 died 5th May 1782) was ordained as a Priest in the Roman Catholic Church on the 19th March 1767 at the age of 45 years. Within a very short time he was appointed as the Titular Archbishop of Damascus on the 6th April 1767 and ordained as a Bishop whilst the Titular Archbishop of Damascus later that month on the 26th April 1767. That same year, Bernardino was appointed to be the Apostolic Nuncio to France on the 27th June 1767. Some four years later on the 17th June 1771 Bernardino was elevated to the rank of Cardinal in pectore by Pope Clement XIV. His clerical career continued when he was appointed as the Archbishop of Ferrara on the 15th March 1773. During the following month of March 1773 he resigned the post of Apostolic Nunico to France. Although as mentioned above Bernardino was elevated to the rank of Cardinal in pectore, he was now declared to be a Cardinal openly by Pope Clemant XIV on the 19th April 1773 and by the end of that year on the 20th December 1773 he was installed as the Cardinal Priest of Santissima Trinità al Monte Pincio. Bernardino resigned as Archbishop of Ferrara on the 14th February 1777 and died in his sixty-first year on the 5th May 1782. At the time of his death he was the Archbishop Emeritus of Ferrara. He was buried in his family chapel in the Church of Santa Maria in Vallicella4, Rome. As an aside, Bernardino only attended one Papal Conclave during his cardinalate and that was the conclave of 1774 - 75 that saw the election of Cardinal Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, the Cardinal-Priest of Sant'Onofrio as Pope Pius VI.