Object details
Object number
T6n4
Creator(s)
Spanish, Alpujarra
Title
Lace Altar Frontal with Eight-Petaled Blossoms and Carnations
Date
about 1550-1600
Medium
Plain weave linen with drawnwork
Description
Crowns, Animals, Floral, Birds
Dimensions
61 x 297.2 cm (24 x 117 in.)
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings
Inscribed on accompanying note in ink in Isabella Stewart Gardner's hand (recto): Given to me by Dodge Macknight 1909 April 14
Inscribed on accompanying note ink ink in Morris Carter's hand, the first director of the museum (verso)" This slip, written by Mrs. Gardner, was found on the altar frontal on the Spanish Chapel altar. Morris Cater / August 27, 1927
Provenance
Purchased by the painter Dodge Macknight (1860-1950) in Granada at an unknown date.
Gift from Dodge MacKnight to Isabella Stewart Gardner 14 April 1909.
Commentary
Although Gardner enjoyed selecting the laces in her collection herself, this large altar frontal was a birthday gift from her friend Dodge Macknight. In a letter accompanying the altar frontal, Macknight wrote “I would rather give it to you than sell it to anyone else.”
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 46.Ronald Hilton. Handbook of Hispanic Source Materials and Research Organizations in the United States (Stanford, California, 1956), p. 194. (as Spanish)Karen E. Haas. "Dodge Macknight -- painting the town red and violet..." Fenway Court (1982), pp. 43-44.Adolph S. Cavallo. Textiles: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1986), p. 124, no. 56. (as Spanish, Alpujarra; dated 1550-1600)Victoria Munroe Fine Art. Todd McKie: Adventures in the Lace Trade (Boston, 2003), p. 6.Dakota Jackson, "Isabella's Lace," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 18 January 2022, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/isabellas-lace
Gallery
Spanish Chapel
Rights and reproductions
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