New York No. 7

Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

Results: 9 records

B1R01: sacrament - holy orders?

Scene Description: monks prostrated in front of an abbot [cf. Font notes]

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Image Source: grayscale image of a photograph in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

B1R02: design element - architectural - arcade - round arches - double arches - columns with capitals and bases

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Image Source: grayscale image of a photograph in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

B1R03: Apostle or saint - unidentified

Scene Description: several of them; may have originally carried their symbols for identification, but are now too worn to be discerned

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Image Source: grayscale image of a photograph in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

B1R04: nature - seasons of the year?

Scene Description: [cf. Font notes]

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Image Source: grayscale image of a photograph in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

B2R01: human figure - unidentified

Scene Description: [cf. Font notes]

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Image Source: grayscale image of a photograph in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

B2R02: animal - unidentified

Scene Description: [cf. Font notes]

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Image Source: grayscale image of a photograph in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

BS01: design element - motifs - dots

Scene Description: forming V shapes in the spandrels of the arcade; they may be a later addition

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Image Source: grayscale image of a photograph in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

R01: design element - motifs - roll moulding

Scene Description: damaged at several places

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Image Source: grayscale image of a photograph in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

view of font

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Image Source: grayscale image of a photograph in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar, 2010

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

INFORMATION

FontID: 17149NEW
Museum and Inventory Number: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Church/Chapel: [original church unknown]
Country Name: United States
Location: New York
Historical Region: originally from Romagna (Italy)?
Font Location in Church: [in a museum]
Century and Period: 12th century, Romanesque
Described and illustrated in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar (2010): monolithic baptismal font made of Preconnesian marble, possibly from Romagna, northern Italy, and dated to the 12th century; round basin with two tiers of decoration: "The top tier illustrates a scene with a church structure: two monks prostrate themselves in fron of an abbot. Clerical onlookers are ranged to the left; they are depicted in single figures in niches that continue around the body of the vessel. The remainder of the upper tier displays representations of rural life: a man warms himself in front of a fire; a shepherd drives a lamb; a worker harvests grain; and a figure with a set of scales appears with foliage resembling grape leaves" [NB: the authors footnote: "These scenes might also be interpreted as a seasonal calendar [...]"]. "The lower tier, arrayed on a sharply narrowing field that follows the slope of the vessel, presents a jumble of human figures intermingled with beasts, all depicted in larger proportions and with greater freedom of movement than the figures above." These same authors refer to the original sale catalogue entry that had described the font as "ninth-century Italo-Byzantine, Ravenna school", and reckon that the date is far too early though "the area of origin may be correct", and suggest similarities with elements from the "Benedictine Abbey of Sant'Ellero in Galeata (Romagna). This same source notes significant damage and evidence of long exposure to the elemnets, as well as eight through perforations on the lower half, probably related to drainage.

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, marble (Preconnesian marble)
Font Shape: tub-shaped
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Drainage Notes: no lining
Rim Thickness: 3.8 cm*
Diameter (includes rim): 62.9 cm*
Basin Depth: 28.9 cm*
Basin Total Height: 44.8 cm*
Notes on Measurements: * [in Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Soultanian and Tayar (2010)]

REFERENCES

Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Lisbeth, Italian medieval sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters, New York; New Haven and London: The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Yale University Press, 2010