This circular brass plate depicts the scene of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in low relief. At the center of this scene is a stylized tree with a snake wound around the trunk and a standing figure on each side. The figure to our left has one hand on its hip and the other flexed up toward the snake. The figure to our right faces the tree with one arm flexed and appears to hold an apple. Both figures are nude and look outward. Each figure has a hole in their lower torso. There is another tree to our far left and part of a building to our right. A circular border decorated with letters encircles this scene. This plate has a large rim that is decorated with a curved scallop.
German, Nuremburg
Plate: Adam and Eve,
15th century - 17th century
Brass
,
39.4 cm (15 1/2 in.)
Object details
Accession number
M19w32
Primary Creator
German, Nuremburg
Full title
Plate: Adam and Eve
Creation Date
15th century - 17th century
Provenance
Possibly purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealer Settimio Silli, Florence for 650 lire on 25 May 1903 through the painter Joseph Lindon Smith (1863-1950). (as a set of four brass plates and a tabernacle)
Dimensions
39.4 cm (15 1/2 in.)
Display Media
Brass
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
Tapestry Room
Bibliography
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), pp. 152-53. (as probably German, Nuremberg; dated 15th-17th centuries)
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 9, no. 28 (13 Mar. 1966), p. 2. (with erroneous provenance)
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.