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Tabernacle
about 1470s
Workshop of Andrea della Robbia
Glazed terracotta and copper, height 76.2 cm
Genre: European Art, Sculpture
Location: Long Gallery
Accession Number: S27w68
A copper door encloses a small chamber that stored the host (consecrated bread symbolizing the body of Christ) before the ceremony of Mass. Just under the door can be seen palm fronds supporting a white disk, which represents the host.
This sculpture is glazed in a technique adapted from traditional pottery. After an initial firing, the terracotta was coated with a white glaze and fired a second time. Individual colors were then added, each color fired separately at specific temperatures. The result was a glass-like coating that fused to the terracotta. In Florence, Luca della Robbia and his family invented an intense white glaze rich in tin oxide, as seen here. Because glazed terracotta was durable, such works could be installed outdoors or in public spaces.
A large-scale altarpiece in glazed terracotta, also by the della Robbia family, can be seen on the 3rd floor of the museum.























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