Object details
Accession number
S9e5.1-12
Primary Creator
Italian, Southern Italy
Full title
Architectural and Sculptural Elements from an Ambo
Creation Date
mid 13th century
Provenance
Created for an ambo in the church of Santa Lucia in Gaeta or perhaps the much larger nearby church of Sant'Erasmo and then later reinstalled in Santa Lucia.
Likely removed from Santa Lucia's ambo in 1648, when the church's interior was renovated. The fragments were reinstalled in another location in the church.
The Gardner fragments were photographed in Santa Lucia at an unknown date in the 19th century. (Soprintendenza Archeologica Per il Lazio, Rome, catalogue no. 7505)
The Gardner fragments were removed from the church before 1895, likely during an early 19th century renovation.
The twelve fragments were purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the antique dealer Pio Marinangeli, Rome for 1,500 lire on 2 November 1897.
Dimensions
128.9 x 182.9 cm (50 3/4 x 72 in.)
Display Media
South Roman marble inlaid with green and red porphyry opus sectile
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
East, North, and West Cloister
Bibliography
A. L. Frothingham, Jr. "Notes on Byzantine Art and Culture in Italy and Especially Rome." The American Journal of Archaeology and of the History of the Fine Arts (1895), pp. 203-05, pl. 14. (discusses the fragments currently in Santa Lucia and correctly hypothesizes the iconography and placement of the Gardner fragments that were unknown to him)
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 60. (the borders as Cosmati work, the sculpture as Italian, probably 11th century)
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 25 (17 Feb. 1963), pp. 1-2. (the mosaic fragments as Cosmati, 12th century)
Walter Cahn. "Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections. IV. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston." Gesta (1969), pp. 51-52, no. 6. (as from the church of Santa Lucia in Gaeta; Italian, Cosmati work, 1st quarter of the 13th century)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 62-64, no. 9a. (as South Italian, Gaeta, from the church of Santa Lucia, 1st quarter of the 13th century)
Walter Cahn. "Medieval Sculpture" in James Thomas Herbert Baily (ed.). The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" (London, 1978), p. 22, no. 2.
Manuela Gianandrea. "Il Perduto Arredo Medievale della Cattedrale di Gaeta." Rivista on line di storia dell'arte (2004), n37. (as middle of the 13th century)
Nicola Severino. I Cosmati nel Lazio. Itinerari d'Arte Cosmatesca (Rome, 2011), pp. 90-93, 114, ill. 91.
Dario Del Bufalo. "Ritrovato l'ambone perduto di Gaeta." Prof. Dario Del Bufalo: Specialista in scultura lapidea, marmi colorati, glittica, restauro e geoarcheologia, Rome, accessed 2014. http://www.dariodelbufalo.it/ritrovato-lambone-perduto-di-gaeta/.
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