Pyx in the Form of a Dove
c. 1220/1230
Artist
More information on this object can be found in the Gallery publication Western Decorative Arts, Part I: Medieval, Renaissance, and Historicizing Styles Including Metalwork, Enamels, and Ceramics, which is available as a free PDF https://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/research/publications/pdfs/western-decorative-arts-part-i.pdf
West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G18
Artwork overview
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Medium
gilded copper with enamel
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Credit Line
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Dimensions
overall: 18.2 x 22.6 x 19.1 cm (7 3/16 x 8 7/8 x 7 1/2 in.)
overall (height of turrets): 4.1 cm (1 5/8 in.)
overall (diameter of base): 16.8 cm (6 5/8 in.)
overall (diameter of disk): 8.2 cm (3 1/4 in.)
overall (height of wall around base): 2.4 cm (15/16 in.) -
Accession
1942.9.284
Artwork history & notes
Provenance
Probably Prince Petr Soltykoff [c. 1801-1889], Paris; (his sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 8 April-1 May 1861, no. 74);[1] Ayers, Paris, 1861-?;[2] Alessandro Castellani [1823-1883], Rome; (sale, H. Hoffmann and Charles Mannheim, Rome, 17 March-10 April 1884, part 2, no. 618); Count Ferdinand de Lasteyrie, by 1890;[3] John Edward Taylor, London; (his estate sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, 1-4 and 9-10 July 1912, 1st day, no. 65); (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); purchased 1914 by Peter A.B. Widener or Joseph E. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A.B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA.
[1] Gauthier, Marie-Madeleine, "Colombe limousine prise aux rêts d'un 'antiquaire' bénédiction à Saint-Germain-des Près, vers 1726," Intuition und Kunstwissenschaft. Festschrift für Hanns Swarzenski, Berlin, 1973: 187, n. 14. Both the Washington dove and a dove in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, were in the Soltykoff sale in 1861 with the numbers 74 and 75, respectively, similarly described.
[2] Gauthier 1973, 187, without dates or first name.
[3] Rupin, Ernest, L'oeuvre de Limoges, Paris, 1890: 228. Braun, Joseph, Der Chrisliche Altar, 2 vols., Munich, 1924: 2:610, 615.
Associated Names
Exhibition History
1897
Catalogue of a Collection of European Enamels, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1897, 13-14, no. 52, pl. 9.
1900
Catalogue officiel illustré de l'art français des origines à 1800, Exposition Universelle, Paris, 1900, 294, no. 2554.
Bibliography
1890
Rupin, Ernest. L'oeuvre de Limoges. Paris, 1890: 228, fig. 292.
1897
Catalogue of a Collection of European Enamels from the Earliest Date to the End of the XVII Century. Exh. cat. Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1897: 13-14, no. 52, pl. 9.
1900
Catalogue officiel illustré de L'Exposition retrospective de l'art français des origines à 1800. Paris, 1900: 294, no. 2554.
1901
Molinier, Emile, and Franz Marcou. Exposition rétrospective de l'art français des origines à la fin du XIXe siècle. Paris, 1901: 89, repro.
1912
Duveen Brothers. A Pyx (Colombe Eucharistique) in Copper-Gilt and Champlevé Enamel. Paris, n.d., (c. 1912-1914).
1924
Braun, Joseph. Der Christliche Altar. 2 vols. Munich, 1924, 2:610, 615.
1935
Inventory of the Objects d'Art at Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, The Estate of the Late P.A.B. Widener. Philadelphia, 1935: 32.
1942
Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 9, as Limoges 13th Century.
1952
Christensen, Erwin O. Objects of Medieval Art from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1952: 16, 18, 30-31, repro.
1973
Gauthier, Marie-Madeleine. "Colombe limousine prise aux rêts d'un `antiquaire' ... à Saint-Germain..., vers 1726." Intuition und Kunstwissenschaft; Festschrift für Hanns Swarzenski. Berlin, 1973: 171-190, fig. 8, 186-187, n. 14.
1975
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1975: 36, color repro.
1983
Campbell, Marian. An Introduction to Medieval Enamels. London, 1983: 30, fig. 23.
1988
Luchs, Alison. "Research on the Collections." Circle Bulletin / National Gallery of Art 3 (Fall 1988): 12-14, repro.
1993
Distelberger, Rudolf, Alison Luchs, Philippe Verdier, and Timonthy H. Wilson. Western Decorative Arts, Part I: Medieval, Renaissance, and Historicizing Styles including Metalwork, Enamels, and Ceramics. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1993: 36-40, color fig. 37.
2009
Venturelli, Paola. "De labore Limogie e gli oggetti limosini del tesoro di San Nazaro." In Il Tesoro di San Nazaro: Antichi argenti liturgici dalla basilica di San Nazaro al Museo Diocesano di Milano. Ed. Gemma Sena Chiesa. Milan, 2009: 120 fig. 2, 121.
2011
Sanjosé Llongueras, Lourdes de. El Colom Eucarístic: Una Obra Singular del Taller de Llemotges. Castelló de la Plana, 2011: 27, 46, 47, 48, 50, 51, 53, 56, 57, 59, 60, 66, 73-74 (no. 11), 109 fig. 3, 120 fig. 14, 121 fig. 15, 122 fig. 16, 137 fig. 30.
2016
National Gallery of Art. Highlights from the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Washington, 2016: 34, repro.
2019
Vignon, Charlotte. Duveen Brothers and the Market for Decorative Arts, 1880-1940. New York, 2019: 226, 276 n. 812.
Wikidata ID
Q62118015