Roman Baroque Silver for the Patriarchate of Lisbon

Abstract

The three major groups of Roman Baroque silver commissioned during the reign (1706–50) of John V of Portugal were made respectively for the chapel of St John the Baptist in the church of S. Roque in Lisbon, 1 for the basilica of the Royal Palace of Mafra, and for the Patriarchate of Lisbon. Elevated to the status of the Patriarchate basilica on 7th November 1716 by Clement XI’s papal bull ‘In supremo apostolatus solio’, and finally consecrated on 13th November 1746, the Patriarchate was particularly cherished by the king and consequently greatly enriched with works of art, among them many outstanding silver objects. These were commissioned for the building even before those for Mafra and commissions continued throughout the first half of the eighteenth century, at the same time that the silver for the chapel of St John the Baptist was being made.