Italian, Northern Italy
Fifteen Choir Stalls (stalli di coro), 16th century
Walnut and chestnut, 265 cm (104 5/16 in.)
These fifteen choir stalls are made of walnut and chestnut and line the walls of a corridor end, arranged to look like a chapel. The stalls are divided into four separate structures which, looking towards the chapel end, are disposed in two groups of stalls on either side of the corridor: three and three on the left, separated by an alcove; and two and seven on the right, separated by a doorway. Each stall group has very tall backs topped by a thick cornice carved with Gothic motifs. The plain seats are separated by vertical carved heavy wood partitions. Each partition is topped by a pilaster, embedded in the back panels, whose capital supports a corbel. In turn, each corbel sustains the aforementioned thick cornice. With the exception of the group of two on the right, the other groups of stalls have vertical anthropomorphic statuettes atop their cornices. That last group has two sets of opposed lions whose hind quarters are conjoined into a fleur-de-lys-like symbol.
Chapel
Commentary
Arranged around the stained glass window from Soisson cathedral are fifteen choir stalls, originating from a church of the Dominican order. While she was installing her new museum in 1900, Isabella Gardner required architectural elements to enhance the spaces. Her old friend in Venice, Daniel Sargent Curtis, found this set of choir stalls.