Processional cross

Author: Bonaventura Caruso (active in the second half of sec. XVIII)

Date: 1779

Material: silver embossed, chiseled and burnished with cast parts; gilded bronze

Dimensions: cm 94×46,5×19

Punches: Mark of the mint of Messina, P.L. 79, P.C. (on all sections of the sheets)

Location: Milazzo, cathedral of Santo Stefano Protomartire

The style of the master Bartolomeo Caruso and the workshop distinguished by the mark “P.C.” is evident in this precious liturgical furniture relevant to the treasure of the mother church. The Processional Cross, in silver foil on a wooden support, is enriched by a double mistilinea frame and polylobe tables with golden mirrors; The lower end is set on a knot shaped to a vessel of considerable size adorned with foliage volutes and elements rocaille. On the front is placed the full-round figure of the Christus patiens, in fire gilded bronze, inserted on a second cross-shaped silhouette characterized by sub-squared fields worked with lattice or parallel lines. On the ends stand out relief, made of lost wax, half-bust images of the Evangelists: Luke with the bull, John with the eagle and Matthew with the angel, at the bottom is applied a late nineteenth century medallion depicting the Virgin with the Child. On the other side is placed the Virgin Mary, embellished with a wide golden copper mantle, but deprived of the lower part of the tunic, at the ends are mounted, always modeled in relief, Saints Peter, Paul, Stephen and Nicholas. The piece bears the consular endorsement of Placido Lancella “PL.79”, the Messina Mint cross shield and the mark “PC.” relevant to the maker.

The work is attributable to the ways of the silversmith messinese Bonaventura, not only for the presence of the “PC.”, already found also in the monstrance of San Giacomo, with certainty referred to the Caruso, but above all for the formal affinities and techniques of execution that are found between the two works, both distinguished by an articulated iconographic program and the same technical expertise. The few elements that constitute the skeleton of the piece, formed by the mixed profile of the pillars replicated by the C-coils opposed in the tables denote, in the calibrated and elegant interpretation of the structure, the need for simplification and sobriety typical of silversmiths, even when the products include the insertion of more complex ornamental apparatuses. The cast figures are characterized by a sharp and accurate definition and have skillful and minute chisel finishes. During the eighth decade of the eighteenth century the volume of results of the Matrix (1783-1844), records several payments made by the procurator of the ancient Cathedral in favor of “dell’Argentiero and Rev. Priest Bonaventura Caruso”, an indication of a close relationship of trust that the artist establishes with the Milazzese ecclesiastical committenza. In fact, he was entrusted in May 1780 with the delicate restoration of the monumental Gothic tabernacle, and in 1785 with the execution of the crown of Santo Stefano protomartire whose cost amounts to “19 Onze” and still the majestic monstrance dedicated to San Giacomo that has allowed us to refer with certainty the work to this author and to trace a first artistic path.

Between 1787 and 1788 he made two other crowns, a genre in which he was obviously very much in demand. Curiously in the line of expenses is also reported a restoration to the arm of the reliquary of Santo Stefano, which however carries a consular punch of the same year “P.R.C.88” placed next to the shield and the indelible acronyms of the crusader. On this silversmith, due to the first corpus of works traced by the writer in Milazzo, recently Giovanni Travagliato has expanded his catalogue thanks to the discovery of a substantial core of documents found in the parish archives of Geraci Siculo and in that of Mistretta, about a chandelier and two precious gold crowns to be made for the marble statue of Our Lady of Miracles.

From the archival papers it emerges clearly that the client placed his trust in the work of the silversmith of Messina, who obviously did not care at all to link the work to the signature or acronym of the maker, but instead attached great importance to consular certification, therefore the same Caruso, as for Milazzo, was responsible to bring the artifacts at the consulate of Messina and was also obliged to deliver a real “sworn” certificate in order to verify the actual caratura of gold used for crowns. The stamp of our master, which should have the initials “B.C.” does not appear in these or any other works traced thanks to accurate descriptions of the archival papers consulted by the scholar. In not a few pieces identified at Geraci Siculo was, however, detected the bulla “P.C.

As regards the Processional Cross of Milazzo it should be noted that the work, unfortunately, has undergone a heavy reworking in the past. The malfunctioning compensation altered the destruction of the gauges shown in the tables and provided for the harmful use of tin for welding. In addition, the probable loss of the evangelist Mark led to the arbitrary insertion on the front of the oval medallion depicting the Virgin with the Child marked by a nineteenth-century consular endorsement. The current and providential restoration will not be able to remedy the damage caused by the pedestrian disassembly and reassembly, however, the cleaning, the reconfiguration of the sections of deformed sheet, The elimination of the damaging rusty iron nails will undoubtedly help to improve the reading of this remarkable processional cross.

Buda V., Lanuzza S. (a cura di), Tesori di Milazzo. Arte sacra tra Seicento e Settecento., Milazzo 2015