This is an Italian rounded arch window frame made from sections of gray stone. The arch is predominantly composed of long sections with floral motifs, in relief. No two are identical. There are three square decorative blocks, one at the top center and one on each side placed right before the arch starts to curve. The two straight sections on the side of the frame each have images of human figures, also in relief, in addition to the floral motif. The figure on our left shows a person with cropped hair, wearing tall boots and a short-sleeved tunic with a triangular dotted section across their chest. They are holding a round circle with what appears to be a face engraved on it. The figure on our right has long flowing hair and is naked except for a long piece of cloth that winds around the body. The bottom section of the frame is a darker gray stone frieze, decorated with an arabesque pattern.
Italian, Northern Italy
Window Frame: Molding Fragments,
15th century
Stone
,
166.1 x 124.1 cm (65 3/8 x 48 7/8 in.)
Object details
Accession number
S1e8
Primary Creator
Italian, Northern Italy
Full title
Window Frame: Molding Fragments
Creation Date
15th century
Provenance
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection by 1904.
Dimensions
166.1 x 124.1 cm (65 3/8 x 48 7/8 in.)
Display Media
Stone
Web 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.
Permanent Gallery Location
Yellow Room
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 18. (as probably North Italian, provincial work, 14th or 15th century)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), p. 175. (as North Italian, 15th century)
Rights and reproductions
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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.