Confessionals
AUTHOR
Giovanni Palmini
PLACE/DATE
Italy, Rome, ca. 1750
MATERIALS
Madeira de nogueira e bronze dourado
DIMENSIONS
Walnut wood and gilded bronze
INV
MB.349 and 350
The present pair of confessionals is one of many dozens of artistic objects that make up the so-called treasure of the royal chapel of St. John the Baptist (capela régia de São João Batista), which was commissioned by King John V (1689-1750) to Rome in 1744.
Sent to Lisbon between 1750 and 1752, the confessionals were to be placed on the balustrade that separates the aforementioned chapel from the nave of the church of São Roque, in order to fulfil a very specific function in the daily life of this space: the sacrament of confession.
These are objects of small dimensions, especially refined, decorated with plant motifs with little relief and putti heads on the lateral flaps. Although this typology does not correspond to the most conventional, it nevertheless keeps one of its most important elements, such as the grille separating the penitent from the confessor.
