Object details
Object number
S5w19
Creator(s)
Italian, Venice
Title
Medallion: Centaur Attacked by a Lion
Date
about 1200
Medium
Marble
Provenance
In September of 1897, Isabella Stewart Gardner purchased many pieces of Venetian relief sculpture and architectural elements in anticipation of the creation of her museum. These purchases included 35 marble medallions or 'paterae,' and in 1899 she purchased three more medallions for a total of 38. These medallions were all purchased in Venice, the majority coming from the dealers Francesco Dorigo and Moisé dalla Torre and one more from the art dealer Antonio Marcato. The 1899 purchases were also made in Venice, an additional patera coming from Francesco Dorigo and two from the art dealer and restorer Dino Barozzi. Gardner installed at least one of her medallions in the Conservatory at Green Hill, her residence in Brookline, Massachusetts, by about 1900 before the group was reinstalled in the Courtyard of Fenway Court.
This patera is likely one of two objects described as "Pateras ditto Centaurs" in Gardner's receipts (museum archives). Purchased from Moisé dalla Torre for 100 lire on 10 September 1897.
Dimensions
43.2 cm (17 in.)
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.
Gallery
Courtyard
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 42. (the group as 12th-13th century, Venetian)
Walter Cahn. "Romanesque Sculpture in American Collections. IV. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston." Gesta (1969), pp. 56-59, no. 14i. (as 12th century, Venetian)
Cornelius C. Vermeule III et al. Sculpture in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1977), pp. 64-66, no. 93e.
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 29. (as about 1200, Venetian)
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