The Dead Christ, early 15th century

Not on View

Medium

bronze

Dimensions

overall (maximum dimensions): 14.45 x 10.07 cm (5 11/16 x 3 15/16 in.)
overall (plaquette field): 7.71 x 4.84 cm (3 1/16 x 1 7/8 in.)
gross weight: 288.75 gr (0.637 lb.)

Credit Line

Widener Collection

Accession Number

1942.9.255

Artists / Makers

North Italian 15th Century (artist)

Image Use

This image is in the public domain.
Read our full Open Access policy for images .

Inscription

on engraved silver niello panels, in pediment: y.s y[ESUS] h[OMINUM] s[ALVATOR] (Jesus, Savior of mankind); on base panel: MARIANVS.SP[ONTE].ECL[ESIAE].SVA.DICAVIT (Mariano voluntarily dedicated [this pax] to the church); at beginning of inscription: shield of arms; at end of inscription: orb with cross

Marks and Labels

Reverse formerly bore previous inventory numbers P.27 (for Plaquette no. 27) in black ink (Bode/Thieme 1897/1906), and 16. in white paint (Hainauer/Duveen 1908); numerals removed in 1982 cleaning.

Provenance

Oscar Hainauer [d. 1894], Berlin; his wife, Julie Hainauer, Berlin; acquired 1906 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); by exchange 21 October 1920 to Joseph E. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA.

Associated Names

Duveen Brothers, Inc.
Hainauer, Julie
Hainauer, Oskar
Widener, Joseph E.

Bibliography

1897: Bode, Wilhelm von, ed. Die Sammlung Oscar Hainauer / The Collection of Oscar Hainauer. [bound as one volume, English and German pages interleaved in one page sequence] Berlin, 1897 and London, 1906: 88, no. 167 (Plaquette no. 27), as North Italian, c. 1450.

1908: A Cabinet of One Hundred & Thirty-Three Bronze Plaques and Medals of the Renaissance Period from the Collection of the Late Herr Oscar Hainauer of Berlin. Ed. Duveen Brothers. London, n.d. (but 1908): no. 16, repro., as North Italian, c. 1450.

1942: Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 15.

1983: Wilson, Carolyn C. Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1983: 60, no. 13, as North Italian, late fifteenth century.

2011: Rossi, Francesco. La collezione Mario Scaglia: placchette. 3 vols. Bergamo, 2011: 1:114, under Variante C, C.14, as Venetian school, and as part of the Hainauer Collection.