Masriera y Carreras

MASRIERA Y CARRERAS.
Reliquary cross. Barcelona, ca. 1957.
Silver, bronze and champlevé enamel.
Signed.
A similar specimen, with a different color of the halo of Christ, appears published in Els Masriera. Un segle de joieria i orfebreria, p. 187, ref. 251.
This cross is a reliquary containing a fragment of the True Cross or Lignum Crucis. An almost identical drawing appears in the Catàleg de models Masriera y Carreras, vol. 6, no. 5103.
Measurements: 9 x 6 cm.

Hanging cross in gilded silver and champlevé enamels with stained glass border in white enamels. The ends of the cross are decorated with enameled representations of the four Evangelists, following a refined Gothic style.

The silverware and jewelry firm was founded in Barcelona in 1839 by Josep Masriera Vidal. The manufacturing process of his pieces, from the design to the final polishing, was carried out entirely in his family workshop, which expanded as demand increased. At the end of the 19th century, Masriera consolidated its position as the most prestigious workshop in Barcelona, winning the Gold Medal and the Unique Prize awarded by the Associació d'Artífexs en Joieria i Plateria de Barcelona (Association of Jewelry and Silverware Artists of Barcelona).
In 1887, the firm was renamed Masriera y Hermanos, with Josep Masriera Manovens at the helm. At this stage, production was extended to jewelry thanks to the recovery of various enameling techniques. His son, Lluís Masriera Rosés, became a key figure in Catalan modernism, achieving international prestige.
In 1915, in the midst of Noucentisme, two of the oldest silversmith and jewelry houses in Catalonia merged: Masriera y Hermanos and Joaquim Carreras Nolla, active since 1766. Thus was born the firm Masriera y Carreras, specialized in the production of Lluís Masriera's designs and in the emerging Art Deco style. The firm's participation in the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris (1925) and in the Universal Exposition of Barcelona (1929) meant its definitive international recognition.
In 1985, Masriera y Carreras merged with Bagués, another historic Barcelona jewelry house, giving rise to Bagués-Masriera, a firm that is still active today.