One of a Pair of Covered Footed Bowls with Abraham and Lot

This covered footed bowl, which matches with Walters 44.67, is from a service made by Pierre Reymond for the wealthy merchant Linhard Tucher of Nuremburg. Every surface is decorated; the narrative scenes are from Genesis and feature Abraham and Lot. The episodes on the outside of the lid on the left bowl are: God speaking from the clouds to Abraham, and Abraham and Lot ending conflicts between their followers and agreeing to separate their possessions. The episode on the lid of the bowl on the right is Lot and his family leaving Sodom. God told Lot to leave the sinful city and not look back. Lot's wife did, and God turned her into a pillar of salt. In the middle of an opulent dinner, these stories were reminders of one's duty to God.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Grigor Stroganoff Sale, Rome, March 13, 1893; J. Pierpont Morgan Collection [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Arnold Seligmann, Rey & Co., New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1919, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.