Mortar with Animal Frieze

Modeler Modeled by Caspar Gras Austrian

Founder Probably cast by Henrich Reinhart

1603

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 520

Mortars were used in daily life in domestic settings to grind seeds, grains, spices and herbs as well as numerous ingredients for cooking, and simple medicines and cosmetics. The sculptor Caspar Gras (1585–1674) worked for the Innsbruck Habsburg court from 1613 to 1632. Through his training with Hubert Gerhard, himself student of Giambologna in Florence. Gras became one of the artists who was instrumental in the transmission of Giambologna’s style to the Northern Europe. Dated "1603" this mortar is the sculptor’s earliest work presently known.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Mortar with Animal Frieze
Modeler: Modeled by Caspar Gras (Austrian, Bad Mergentheim, near Würzburg 1585–1674 Schwaz, near Innsbruck)
Founder: Probably cast by Henrich Reinhart (ca. 1570–1629)
Date: 1603
Culture: German, Innsbruck
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 7 1/4 × 7 7/8 × 6 3/4 in. (18.4 × 20 × 17.1 cm)
Classification: Sculpture-Bronze
Credit Line: Purchase, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Acquisitions Fund, 2017
Object Number: 2017.11
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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