Object details
Object number
ARC.100010
Creator(s)
Title
Farnese Sarcophagus in the West Cloister, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Date
1932
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
20.3 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in.)
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings
Stamped in ink and inscribed in pencil (verso, upper left): Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum / 163 Worthington Street, Boston, Massachusetts / Photograph No. B527 / Date Mar 1932 / Artist Roman II century / Subject Marble Sarcophagus: The procession of Bacchus. and Lillies
Stamped in ink (verso, upper left): This print is supplied for private use only. Specific permission is required for its publication or public display.
Inscribed in pencil (verso, center left): copy
Stamped in ink (verso, lower center): Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum / Boston, Mass.
Commentary
Isabella sometimes used objects in the courtyard as planters. This photograph was taken after her death in the early 1930s and shows lillies in the Farnese Sarcophagus (S12e3). Behind the sarcophagus you can see flowering nasturtiums hanging from the third floor balcony. This display continues an annual tradition started by Isabella marking the return of spring.
Bibliography
Holly Salmon, Jessica Chloros, and Ellen Promise, "Secrets of the Farnese Sarcophagus," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 18 May 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/secrets-farnese-sarcophagus
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