The marble relief sculpture is horseshoe-shaped, with the round end up. It is comprised by an inner field, surrounded by a narrow border, and a broader one towards the exterior. The narrow border is formed by alternating tooth-like projections, while the broad one is adorned with two styles of alternating carved flowers. The relief is symmetrical about an invisible, central vertical line. From the center bottom of the inner field rises a pair of columns with conical capitals, capped by one intact stone. The columns are as tall as about two thirds of the field they occupy. Halfway up, the columns appear to soften into ropes and tie into a square knot. Above the knot, they resume their normal stiffness. Two pairs of realistic birds shown from the profile complete the design and animate the field. The larger pair of birds resemble mirror image peacocks. They flank the central columns, mimicking their size and orientation. Their bundles of tail feathers resemble elongated gourds and lead to oval shaped bodies and long outstretched necks. Their necks curve outwards and then inwards as their beaks extend up to the top of the columns’ capitals. The peacocks’ legs form thin diagonal lines as they reach inward to meet the column knot, which supports them. The upper pair of birds is smaller. They are both facing the exterior of the relief, yet their necks are turned such that their heads face inward. Their tails are crossed into an “X” form that rests on the stone topping the columns. The space created between the bodies and necks of the birds is heart-shaped and filled with an intricate decorative floral motif.
Italian, Venice
Decorative Relief,
12th century
Marble
,
103.5 x 59.7 cm (40 3/4 x 23 1/2 in.)
Object details
Accession number
S5s10
Primary Creator
Italian, Venice
Full title
Decorative Relief
Creation Date
12th century
Provenance
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the marble mason and dealer Francesco Dorigo, Venice for about 20 lire on 22 September 1897.
Dimensions
103.5 x 59.7 cm (40 3/4 x 23 1/2 in.)
Display Media
Marble
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
Courtyard
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 42. (as probably Byzantine)
Walter Cahn. "Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections. IV. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston." Gesta (1969), pp. 55-56, no. 12. (as Venetian, 13th century)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 61-62, no. 91. (as Venetian, 12th 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.