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Florentine 15th Century, possibly after a model by Desiderio da Settignano (stem with integral base); Florentine 19th Century (dome, enclosure, base beneath enclosure, finial, bottom plinth)

Ciborium for the Sacrament, 1460s-c.1470 (stem with integral base); probably 1860s-c. 1870 (dome, enclosure, base beneath enclosure); 1870s (finial, bottom plinth)

West Building, Main Floor - Gallery 05

Medium

marble

Dimensions

overall: 322.1 × 80.8 × 69.9 cm, (126 13/16 × 31 13/16 × 27 1/2 in.), 2357 lb.
gross weight (base): 1217 lb.
gross weight (tabernacle): 621 lb.
gross weight (dome): 411 lb.
gross weight (finial): 108 lb.

Credit Line

Samuel H. Kress Collection

Accession Number

1952.5.100

Artists / Makers

Florentine 15th Century (sculptor)

Desiderio da Settignano (sculptor) Florentine, c. 1429 - 1464

Florentine 19th Century (sculptor)

Image Use

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

Provenance

S. Pier Maggiore, Florence, until 1783, when the church partially collapsed. A marble worker's shop in Piazza della Madonna, Florence. (Tito Gagliardi, via della Scala, Florence); sold c. 1880 to Nathaniel de Rothschild [1836-1905], Vienna;[1] his nephew, Baron Alphons de Rothschild [1878-1942], Vienna;[2] his widow, Baroness Clarice de Rothschild [1894-1967]; sold 1951 through (Rosenberg & Stiebel, New York) to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1952 to NGA.

[1] Walter and Elisabeth Paatz, Die Kirchen von Florenz: ein kunstgeschichtliches Handbook, 6 vols., Frankfurt am Main, 1940- : 4(1952):654 n. 55.

[2] This object appears to have been part of the Vienna collection of Alphons de Rothschild that was confiscated by the Nazis in 1938 and stored at the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna. Its location was published in 1942 as the storeroom of the Kunsthistoriches Museum by Leo Planiscig, Desiderio da Settignano, Vienna, 1942: 22. It was returned to the Rothschilds by 1951 when it was acquired by the Kress Foundation from the Baroness de Rothschild; see Kress records in NGA curatorial files.

Associated Names

Gagliardi, T.
Kress Foundation, Samuel H.
Rothschild, Alphons de
Rothschild, Clarice de, Baroness
Rothschild, Nathaniel Mayer von, Baron
S. Pier Maggiore
Stiebel, Ltd.

Bibliography

1510: Albertini, Francesco. Memoriale di molte statue et picture. Florence, 1510: 171-172 [Memorial of many statues and paintings in the illustrious city of Florence by Francesco Albertini (1510) Facsimile in critical edition, Waldemar H. de Boer and Michael W. Kwakkelstein, eds. Florence, 2010: 182-183, repro.]

1591: Bocchi, Francesco. Le bellezze della città di Firenze. Florence, 1591:157 (Facsimile ed. John Shearman, London, 1971).

1677: Giovanni Cinelli, ed. Francesco Bocchi. Le bellezze della città di Firenze. Florence, 1677: 356

1754: Richa, Giuseppe. Notizie storiche delle chiese fiorentine. 10 vols. Florence, 1754-1762: I (1754): 144.

1765: Cambiagi, Gaetano. L’Antiquario Fiorentino. Florence, 1765 (and later editions): 77, as by Gregorio da Settignano.

1789: Follini, Vincenzio and Modesto Rastrelli. Firenze antica e moderna illustrata. 8 vols., Florence, 1789-1802: V (1794): 85, 91-92.

1832: Masselli, Giovanni, ed. Le opere di Giorgio Vasari, pittore e architetto aretino. 2 vols. Florence, 1832-1838: 349 n. 8.

1845: Moisè, F. Santa Croce di Firenze, Florence, 1845: 124.

1875: La parrocchia di San Martino a Majano: Cenni storici. Florence, 1875: 94.

1890: Da Prato, Cesare. Desiderio da Settignano e diverse opera sue. Florence, 1890: 35-36 and correction slip.

1903: Bouchaud, Pierre de. Les successeurs de Donatello. Paris, 1903: 95-96.

1903: Cocchi, Arnaldo. Le chiese di Firenze dal secolo IV al secolo XX. Florence, 1903: vol. 1: 101, as unlocated.

1903: Rothschild, Nathaniel. Notizen über einige meiner Kunstgegenstände. Vienna, 1903: no. 116.

1905: Schottmüller, Frida. “Desiderio da Settignano.” Das Museum X (1905): 53-56, repro., esp. 55.

1907: Schottmüller, Frida. “Desiderio da Settignano.” In Thieme, Ulrich, and Felix Becker, eds. Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. 37 vols. Leipzig, 1907-1950: 9 (1913):132.

1908: Galletti, Paolo, ed., “Ricordi antichi d'arte fiorentina.” Notes from c. 1550-1600. Rivista fiorentina 1 part 2 (October 1908): 25.

1912: Carocci, Guido. “Notizie del mese di settembre. La chiesa di S. Pier Maggiore e la sua demolizione.” L’Illustratore Fiorentino 9 September 1912: 118-122, esp. 122.

1919: Schubring, Paul. Die Italienische Plastik des Quattrocento. Berlin, c. 1919: 120.

1938: Wackernagel, Martin. Der Lebensraum des Künstlers in der florentinischen Renaissance. Leipzig, 1938: 89. English ed., The World of the Florentine Renaissance Artist, translated by Alison Luchs, Princeton, 1981: 84, as lost.

1940: Paatz, Walter, and Elisabeth Paatz. Die Kirchen von Florenz: ein kunstgeschichtliches Handbuch. 6 vols. Frankfurt am Main, 1940-1954: 4(1952):639, 654, n. 55.

1942: Planiscig, Leo. Desiderio da Settignano. Vienna, 1942: 22, 44-45, repro. figs. 19-21, as prototype for a series of freestanding tabernacles in Tuscan churches, parts surviving.

1949: Galassi, Guiseppe. La scultura fiorentina del quattrocento. Milan, 1949: 163.

1951: Davies, Martin. National Gallery Catalogues. The Earlier Italian Schools. London, 1951: 307 n. 22.

1953: Paatz, Walter. Die Kunst der Renaissance in Italien. Stuttgart, 1953: 82, 182 n. 134.

1955: Kurz, Otto. “A Group of Florentine Drawings for an Altar.” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 18 (1955): 35-53, esp. 50.

1956: Cardellini, Ida. “Desiderio e il Tabernacolo di San Lorenzo.” Critica d’Arte 14 (1956): 68-75, esp. 71 .

1956: Paintings and Sculpture from the Kress Collection Acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation 1951-56. Introduction by John Walker, text by William E. Suida and Fern Rusk Shapley. National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1956: 220-223, no. 88, repro., as Tabernacle.

1957: Bulla, J. M. An Introduction to Florentine Sculpture in the XV Century. London, 1957: 61

1958: Pope-Hennessy, John. Italian Renaissance Sculpture. London, 1958: 302.

1959: Paintings and Sculpture from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1959: 403, repro., as Tabernacle.

1961: Davies, Martin. National Gallery Catalogues. The Earlier Italian Schools. London, 1961: 396 n. 24.

1962: Cardellini, Ida. Desiderio da Settignano. Milan, 1962: 252-256, repro., as eighteenth or nineteenth century re-creation, based largely on Benedetto da Maiano.

1964: Hans Caspary. Das Sakraments-tabernakel in Italien biz zum Konzil von Trient. Munich, 1964: 54-55, 144-145, nn. 124-125

1964: Schulz, Anne Markham. "Review of Cardellini 1962." The Art Bulletin 46 (1964): 239-247, esp. 242, 243, 246, as stem and house executed “at least under Desiderio’s close supervision,” dome, lantern and base late.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 152, as Tabernacle.

1966: Vasari, Giorgio. Le vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architettori nelle redazioni del 1550 e 1568. Edited by Rosanna Bettarini and Paola Barocchi. 8 vols. Florence, 1966-1987: 3:401.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 135, repro., as Tabernacle.

1973: Finley, David Edward. A Standard of Excellence: Andrew W. Mellon Founds the National Gallery of Art at Washington. Washington, 1973: 90.

1973: Vasari, Giorgio. Le vite. Edited by Licia and Carlo Ragghianti. Updated by G. Innamorati. 3 vols. Milan, 1971-1976: 2(1973):302-303, n. 9.

1976: Middeldorf, Ulrich. Sculptures from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools XIV-XIX Century. London, 1976: 16-19, repro. figs 30-33.

1981: Vines, Grizel Cochrane. Desiderio da Settignano. Ph.D dissertation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 1981: 163-166, repro. pl. 79, 80, 81, as possibly executed by sculptors from Desiderio’s circle based on his sketch.

1985: Bähr, Ingeborg. In Peter Anselm Riedl and Max Seidel, eds. Die Kirchen von Siena. 3 vols. Munich, 1985-2006: 2(1992), pt. 1.2: 628

1988: Davies, Martin, and Dillian Gordon. National Gallery Catalogues. The Earlier Italian Schools. Rev. ed. London, 1988: 53 n. 2.

1994: Gentilini, Giancarlo. “Fonti e tabernacoli…pile, pilastri e sepulture: arredi marmorei della bottega dei da Maiano.” In Daniela Lamberini, Marcello Lotti and Roberto Lunardi, eds.. Giuliano e la bottega dei da Maiano. Atti del convegno internazionale di studi (Fiesole, 1991). Florence, 1994: 182-195, esp. 192 and 195, nn. 98-99. repro 192, fig. 141, as Benedetto da Maiano (?), c. 1460/1470.

1994: Sculpture: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994: 72, repro.

1995: Harms, Martina. Matteo Civitali. Bildhauer der Frührenaissance in Lucca. Münster, 1995: 45-46, as possibly the San Piero Maggiore ciborium.

1999: Norman Herz, Katherine A. Holbrow and Shelley G. Sturman. "Marble Sculture in the National Gallery of Art: a Provenance Study." In Max Schvoerer, ed. Archéomatériaux: marbres et autres roches: ASMOSIA IV, Bordeaux, France 9-13 october 1995: actes de la IVème Conférence international de l’Association pour l’étude des marbres et autres roches utilizes dans le passé. Talence, 1999: 101-110, esp. 103.

2001: Coonin, Victor. In Andrew Butterfield and Anthony Radcliffe, eds. Masterpieces of Renaissance Art. Eight Rediscoveries. Exh. cat. Salander-O’Reilly Gallery, New York, 2001-2002: 17, as not Desiderio or from San Pier Maggiore.

2004: Caglioti, Francesco. In Matteo Civitali e il suo tempo. Pittori, scultori e orafi a Lucca nel tardo Quattrocento. Ex. Cat. Lucca, Museo Nazionale di Villa Guinigi. Milan 2004: 408, repro., as Benedetto da Maiano, 1464-1465.

2006: Bocchi, Francesco. The Beauties of the City of Florence. A Guidebook of 1591. Introduced, translated and annotated by Thomas Frangenberg and Robert Williams. London 2006: 170 n. 491, repro. 169.

2006: Caglioti, Francesco. “Altari eucaristici scolpiti del primo Rinascimento: qualche caso maggiore.” In Jörg Stabenow, ed. Lo Spazio e il Culto. Relazioni tra edificio ecclesiale e uso liturgico dal XV al XVI secolo. Venice, 2006: 53-89, esp. 67, nn. 30-31, as not Desiderio.

2007: Gentilini, Giancarlo. In Desiderio da Settignano: Sculptor of Renaissance Florence. Exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris; Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Milan, 2007: repro. 26, 31, as Desiderio and Benedetto da Maiano, c. 1463-1465.

2008: Nierhaus, Andreas. "Vor-Bild Frankreich. Die Paläste der Familie Rothschild im Wiener Belvedere-Viertel." Österreichische Zeitschrift für Kunst und Denkmalpflege 62, no. 1 (2008): 78 fig. 90.

2010: Derenthal, Ludger and Christine Kühn, ed. Ein neuer Blick: Architekturfotographie aus den Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin. Exh. cat. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 2010. Berlin, 2010: 213, fig. 137.

2011: Gordon, Dillian. The Italian Paintings Before 1400. National Gallery Catalogues. London, 2011: 91, n. 190.

2011: Strozzi, Beatrice Paolozzi. "Desiderio, Matteo Palmieri e un'opera perduta." In Connors, Joseph, Alessandro Nova, Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi and Gerhard Wolf, eds. Papers from a colloquium held at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence, Max-Planck-Institut, and at Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Florence, May 9-12, 2007 on occasion of the exhibition in Florence dedicated to Desiderio da Settignano. Venice, 2011: 61-78, repro. fig 12 as Benedetto da Maiano.

2012: Vasari, Giorgio. Das Leben des Giuliano da Maiano, Antonio und Bernardo Rossellino, Desiderio da Settignano und Benedetto da Maiano. Translated by Victoria Lorini. Sabine Feser and Christina Irlenbusch, eds. Berlin, 2012: 47 and 122, n. 14, as completed by Benedetto da Maiano 1463-1465.

2013: Davies, Paul. “Framing the Miraculous: The Devotional Functions of Perspective in Italian Renaissance Tabernacle Design.” Art History 36:5 (November 2013): 898-921, repro. 902 as Desiderio, schematic repro. 910, 920 n. 11.

2014: Carl, Doris. "Verloren und Wiedererfunden: Desiderio da Settignano, Die Ximenes und das Ziborium der National Gallery in Washington." Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz 56, Band 3 (2014): 285-321, repro.

2016: Luchs, Alison. "The Washington Ciborium attributed to Desiderio da Settignano: Quattrocento, Ottocento, or both?" In Encountering the Renaissance: Celebrating Gary M. Radke and 50 Years of the Syracuse University Graduate Program in Renaissance Art. Edited by Molly Bourne and A. Victor Coonin. Ramsey, New Jersey, 2016: 185-200, figs. 1, 3, 6, 9, 11.