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LOT 280
Incredibly Ornate Spanish Damascened Powder Flask with Damascened Case by Zuloaga
Dated 1854 - The small bag-shaped iron flask features an oval section on each side displaying
a disgorging mask and gold scrollwork, and the remainder is chiseled with entwining scrollwork
with gilt backgrounds. The spout screws off for refilling the flask and features silver interlacing
scroll designs. The clamshell desktop case is blued iron and features silver and gold damascening
including a river-side scene three nude figures, one winged and one sleeping. The balance of the
designs are gold and silver borders and interlacing foliate scroll patterns, and the interior also
features silver scrollwork and is closely fit to the flask which is secured via a collar and a sliding
catch. The underside of the case is inscribed “ZULOAGA ANO 1854”.
Eusebio Zuloaga Gonzalez (1808-1898) was one of the finest metal workers in Spain’s long history
of artistic metalwork, arguably the very finest, and this incredible powder horn and its ornate
clamshell case are certainly emblematic of his talents. The Metropolitan Museum of Art describes
him as “gunmaker to the Spanish monarchs, keeper of the Royal Armory in Madrid, and the most
famous Spanish metalworker of the mid-nineteenth century.” He and his family have been credited
with preserving the art of Spanish damascening and trace their long lineage as arms makers to the
17th century. He was born in Madrid and studied under his uncle Ramon Zuloaga in 1822-1827
at Placencia de las Armas and then worked under his father, Blas Zuloaga (1782-1856), who was
the armorer to the Spanish Royal Bodyguard and honorary chief armorer of the Spanish Royal
Armory of Madrid (Real Armeria de Madrid). He received the title of royal gunmaker to Queen
Isabella II in 1844 and was charged with refurbishing the arms and armor of the armory between
1847 and 1849 which would have included studying and repairing the intricate damascening
on some of the items prior to the reopening of the
armory in 1849 and would have provided plenty of
inspiration for the intricate patterns and classical figures
seen on this set. He won a silver medal at the Exhibition of
Spanish Industry in Madrid in 1845 and presented his workshop’s
impressive artistic arms and wares at the most important international exhibitions
in the mid-19th century, including The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of
All Nations in London in 1851 where he won an award and Exposition Universelle of 1855 in Paris
where he received a medal of honor. A similarly decorated flask with a pair of pistols and mold by
Zuloaga displayed at the Great Exhibition can be seen in Plate 8 in “The Industrial Arts of the 19th
Century” by M. Digby Wyatt who notes, “In the production of the specimens of Spanish fire-arms
we have engraved, M. Zuloaga evinces consummate skill, and we can imagine, to a military man,
no more splendid offering than was made when ‘the Captain General of Puerto Ricco, the Count
Mirasol, the General Don Celestino Ruiz de la Bastida, the Peninsular regiments of Catalonia, Iberia,
and the Asturias, and the regular Militia of the year 1846,’ offered the princely gift of this rich
collection of arms to the Duke of Valencia, captain-general of the Spanish army.” See James Lavin’s
“The Art and Tradition of the Zuloagas: Spanish Damascene from the Khalili Collection” for more
information.
CONDITION: Very fine with nearly all of the gold and silver remaining, 75% plus original blue finish
with some age related fading, and minor overall age and storage related wear.
Provenance: Private Collection in Spain; Property of a Gentleman.
Estimate: 10,000 - 15,000
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