Elephant with Salt Receptacle
by LÓPEZ, Francisco, Rock crysral, gold, enamel, 7 x 9 x 5 cm
The reclining, elongated elephant in rock crystal was acquired in 1550 in Lisbon by the Queen of Portugal, Dona Catarina (1507-1578). In that same year she paid the goldsmith, Francisco Lopez, for the rock crystal object, as well as for his work on the assembly. The elephant have arrived in Lisbon from southern India via Goa.