Mortar with Animal Frieze
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
- 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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