Sword Pommel with inset plaquette of The Judgment of Paris [detachable obverse of pommel]

second half 15th century

Master IO.F.F.

Associated Names
Master IO.F.F.

Artist, Bolognese, active 1468/1484

The sculpture depicts four figures, with one seated figure on the left interacting with three standing figures on the right, who are all nude. Above the figures, there are two smaller flying figures or motifs and some tree-like or decorative elements above the seated figure. The sculpture is circular, set within a clover-shaped frame with scalloped edges. It is made of bronze, giving it a metallic, gold-brown appearance with a smooth texture. The figures are rendered in relief, creating a three-dimensional effect that provides depth to the scene.

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G16

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze

  • Credit Line

    Widener Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (diameter of plaquette alone): 5.37 cm (2 1/8 in.)
    gross weight (detachable plaquette alone): 28.5 gr (0.063 lb.)
    overall (sword pommel): 7.05 × 7.27 × 1.63 cm (2 3/4 × 2 7/8 × 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1942.9.207

Artwork history & notes

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

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: 95, no. 213 (Plaquette no. 73), repro., as Judgment of Paris and Bacchanalian Scene, by Giovanni Fiorentino [that is, Master IO.F.F.].

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. 35, repro.

1942

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

2011

  • Rossi, Francesco. La collezione Mario Scaglia: placchette. 3 vols. Bergamo, 2011: 1:270, under Variante D/1, C.47, as part of the Hainauer Collection.

Inscriptions

in exergue, in relief, rubbed: .IO[HANNES].F[ONDULINI].F[ONDULI]. (Giovanni di Fondulino Fonduli)

Markings

Edge of pommel bears former inventory number 35 in white paint (Hainauer/Duveen 1908).

Wikidata ID

Q63809831

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