Heron-shaped Vase
by SARACCHI brothers, Rock crystal, mount: gold, enamel, and precious stones, height 32 cm
The workshop of the Saracchi family in Milan specialized in bird-shaped vessels and grotesque imagery that were carved in rock crystal from the nearby Alps, or in other semiprecious stones. This rock crystal vase is held together by gold and enamel mounts, its flanks engraved with hunting scenes. “Herons,” as they were called in inventories, occasionally had genuine heron feathers on their heads.