The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Plate with the Visconti arms

Art Object

Bernini in Action: Gesture and Technique in Clay

In conjunction with the exhibition Bernini: Sculpting in Clay (on view October 3, 2012–January 6, 2013), Anthony Sigel, Guest Curator, and Conservator of Objects and Sculpture, Straus Center for Conservation and Technical Studies, Harvard Art Museums, outlines the research and discoveries he and his fellow curators made in preparation for the exhibition. By researching Bernini's methods, Sigel has determined which figures Bernini created himself and which ones were likely created by assistants. His lecture includes his own photographs of the models and detailed descriptions of Bernini's methods.

Video/Audio (4)

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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
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Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3142 views

Plate with the Visconti arms

Date:: ca. 1480–1500
Culture:: Italian, probably Deruta
Medium:: Tin-glazed earthenware (maiolica)
Dimensions:: Overall (confirmed): H. 3 5/16 x Diam. 15 in. (8.4 x 38.1 cm)
Classification:: Ceramics
Credit Line:: Fletcher Fund, 1946
Accession Number:: 46.85.16

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 604

Description

The distinctive motif of a coiled serpent swallowing a boy derives from the coat of arms of the Visconti family who ruled Milan until 1450, when power shifted to the Sforza family who appropriated this heraldic device when they assumed the Dukedom.
Provenance

J. Pierpont Morgan ; Mortimer L. Schiff (before 1927–1946; sale, Mortimer L. Schiff Collection, Parke- Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, May 4, 1946, no. 67; through French & Co. to MMA)
See also
What
Ceramics (29,328)

Pottery (12,858)

Dishes (6,708)

Earthenware (6,695)

Plates (3,606)

Glazing (3,103)

Maiolica (548)
Where
Europe (150,651)

Italy (24,967)

Umbrian (196)

Perugia (138)

Deruta (70)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,608)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,228)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Florence and Central Italy, 1400–1600 A.D.
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