Mucius Scaevola, second half 15th century

West Building, Ground Floor - Gallery 16

Medium

bronze//Medium brown patina

Dimensions

overall (shield-shaped): 6.12 × 5.9 cm (2 7/16 × 2 5/16 in.)
gross weight: 37.29 gr (0.082 lb.)

Credit Line

Samuel H. Kress Collection

Accession Number

1957.14.480

Artists / Makers

Master IO.F.F. (artist) Bolognese, active 1468/1484

Image Use

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

Inscription

in exergue, in relief: .IO[HANNES].F[ONDULINI].F[ONDULI] [followed by a sprig of horseradish or "cren" to signify "da Crema"] (Giovanni di Fondulino Fonduli, da Crema); stamped at right: B.M. (Boisell de Monville, see Provenance)

Marks and Labels

Reverse inscribed in blue ink, Jean Houtteau (for owner, 1861–1871: see Provenance); formerly bore previous inventory number 346 in yellow paint (Ricci 1931); numerals removed in 1982 cleaning.

Provenance

Thomas-Charles-Gaston, Baron Boissel de Monville [1763–1832], Paris; (his estate sale, Roussel-Pillet, Paris, 24–25 January 1861, no. 133 [part]); Jean Houtteau d’Origny, Paris, until 1871. Gustave Dreyfus [1837–1914], Paris, by 1886; his heirs; (purchased 1930 by Duveen Brothers, Inc., London, New York, and Paris); sold 1944 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York.

Associated Names

Dreyfus, Gustave
Duveen Brothers, Inc.
Kress Foundation, Samuel H.

Bibliography

1886: Molinier, Émile. Les Bronzes de la Renaissance. Les Plaquettes; Catalogue Raisonné. 2 vols. Paris, 1886: 1:94, no. 138, repro. 95, as by Giovanni delle Corniole.

1908: Migeon, Gaston. "La collection de M. Gustave Dreyfus, V: Les plaquettes." Les Arts 80 (August 1908): pl. 17, fig. 9, as by Giovanni delle Corniole.

1931: Ricci, Seymour de. The Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Reliefs and Plaquettes. Oxford, 1931: 238, no. 346, pl. 100, as by “Master IO.F.F.”

1951: Renaissance Bronzes: Statuettes, Reliefs and Plaquettes, Medals and Coins from the Kress Collection. Introduction by Perry B. Cott. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1951: 154, as by “Master IO.F.F.”

1965: Pope-Hennessy, John W. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Reliefs, Plaquettes, Statuettes, Utensils and Mortars. London, 1965: 34, no. 101, fig. 132, as by Master IO.F.F.

1983: Wilson, Carolyn C. Renaissance Small Bronze Sculpture and Associated Decorative Arts at the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1983: 97, no. 22, as by Master IO.F.F.

1989: Fulton, Christopher B. "The Master IO.F.F. and the Function of Plaquettes." Studies in the History of Art 22 (1989): 146, 159 note 9, fig. 4, as by Master IO.F.F.

1992: Waldman, Louis. "A Livian Plaquette by Master IO.F.F." The Medal 21 (Autumn 1992): 17–19, fig. 3, as Trial of Mucius Scaevola, by “Master IO.F.F.”

1997: Lucco, Mauro, Bertrand Jestaz, and Tiziana Franco, eds. Catalogo del Museo civico di Belluno. 3 vols. Vicenza, 1997: 3:43.

2006: Bergbauer, Bertrand and Catherine Chédeau. Images en relief: La collection de plaquettes du Musée National de la Renaissance. Paris, 2006: 71.

2011: Rossi, Francesco. La collezione Mario Scaglia: placchette. 3 vols. Bergamo, 2011: 1:265, under Prototipo, M.29.

2013: Leino, Marika. Fashion, Devotion and Contemplation: The Status and Functions of Italian Renaissance Plaquettes. Oxford, 2013: 109, 110 fig. 71.