# Nautilus Pitcher [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [UNKNOWN GOLDSMITH, Italian]() - Date: 1551-1600 - Technique: Pearls, rubies, and turquoise, mounted with gilt silver ## Commentary Nautilus Pitcher c. 1570 Pearls, rubies, and turquoise, mounted with gilt silver Museo degli Argenti, Palazzo Pitti, Florence Nautilus shells are found in the Indian and Pacific oceans. In Europe of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries they became highly prized items used for decorative objects, and were frequently mounted in precious metals and stones; at times they were also engraved or etched, as in this case. Three dolphins form the cup's stem with bands winding around the shell and covering its rim. ## Related artworks - [Antique Purple Amethyst Vessel with Gold Stem and Heavy Lid]() - [Antique Sardonyx Vase with Lid and Mount in Gilt Silver]() - [Bernardo Buontalenti Presenting a Wood Model]() - [Book cover]() - [Box with painted ivory]() - [Chalice with Medici Arms]() - [Cross of Desiderius \(back\)]() - [Cross of Desiderius \(front\)]() - [Cross of Desiderius \(front\)]() - [Cross of Desiderius]() - [Cup]() - [Cup]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()