14 - ITALY, SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY, circa 1562

ITALY, SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY, circa 1562 Rare wine gauge (Velte gauge) Made of walnut with a gilded brass mount, square in cross-section, featuring a sliding ruler marked with notches. Engraved decoration on the end caps, bordered by scrolls: Upper end cap: one side pierced with a viewing window; two sides adorned with a triangle inscribed within a circle, which is itself inscribed within a square with pointed corners; the fourth side bearing a cartouche with the coat of arms “d... with a band d... charged with three mounds of six points,” which may correspond to the simplified coat of arms of the Ciocchi del Monte family, from which Pope Julius III was descended; at the end, scrolls and the inscription “PON...X.B.II.QVADRATI.” Lower finial: three sides decorated with a barrel depicted from different angles; the fourth side features Bacchus seated on a small barrel, holding a cup; at the tip, the motto “OMNIA IN PONDERE ET MENSURA ” (All things by weight and measure), a motto dating back to Seneca. Ends of the ruler: bearing the letters R.T.P. and the date 1562, a mason’s tools (square, compass, and plumb line), as well as geometric motifs at the ends. Beneath the coat of arms, a carved and inlaid ornament featuring two loops surmounted by six chisels, echoing the coat of arms. Signs of wear. Dimensions: length 54.8 x width 1.9 x height 1.8 cm Provenance: Pierre Bergé Auction, Paris, June 2021, lot 63