This is a free standing, gilded and painted ornamental column made of walnut. It is composed of a round, flaring base resting on heavy octagonal pier, a shaft, and an inverted conical capital, with a wider, rounded flat top. The shaft is composed of two sections of similar heights, the bottom one that is cylindrical, and the top one that tapers. A golden band unites the two sections, decorated with two rows of small horizontal leaves. Two rings of vertical, larger golden leaves adorn the top and the bottom of band. Both shaft sections are adorned with spiraling vines laden with green leaves and birds.
Italian, Rome
Column (Colonna),
late 17th century
Painted and gilded walnut
,
126 x 37 x 37 cm (49 5/8 x 14 9/16 x 14 9/16 in.)
Object details
Accession number
S16s32
Primary Creator
Italian, Rome
Full title
Column (Colonna)
Creation Date
late 17th century
Provenance
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection by the late 1890s.
Dimensions
126 x 37 x 37 cm (49 5/8 x 14 9/16 x 14 9/16 in.)
Display Media
Painted and gilded walnut
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
Raphael Room
Bibliography
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 11.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 107. (19th century in Renaissance style)
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston, 2011), p. 136, no. 49. (as possibly Roman)
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.