Object details
Object number
S5w8
Creator(s)
Italian, Venice
Title
Medallion: Bird Attacking a Hare
Date
12th century - 13th century
Medium
Stone
Dimensions
26.7 cm (10 1/2 in.)
Provenance
In September of 1897, Isabella Stewart Gardner purchased many pieces of Venetian relief sculpture and architectural elements in anticipation of the creation of her museum. These purchases included 35 marble medallions or 'paterae,' and in 1899 she purchased three more medallions for a total of 38. These medallions were all purchased in Venice, the majority coming from the dealers Francesco Dorigo and Moisé dalla Torre and one more from the art dealer Antonio Marcato. The 1899 purchases were also made in Venice, an additional patera coming from Francesco Dorigo and two from the art dealer and restorer Dino Barozzi. Gardner installed at least one of her medallions in the Conservatory at Green Hill, her residence in Brookline, Massachusetts, by about 1900 before the group was reinstalled in the Courtyard of Fenway Court.
This patera is probably one of seven objects described as "pateras bird & rabbit" or "[patera] animals & birds" in Gardner's receipts (museum archives). Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from Francesco Dorigo for 30 or 40 lire on 22 September 1897.
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 42. (the group as 12th-13th century, Venetian)
Walter Cahn. "Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections. IV. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston." Gesta (1969), pp. 56-59, no. 14z.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 64-66, no. 93b. (the entry is correct, but the is image is of S5e14)
Peter Lansburgh et al. 2000 Years of Sculpture, from the Classical Age to the Baroque: Collection of Mark Lansburgh. Exh. cat. (Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1977), cat. 8.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 29. (the medallions disucssed as a group)
Gallery
Courtyard
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