Plate with Psyche Carried into the Mountains
(Renaissance Europe )
This plate depicts a scene from the story of Cupid and Psyche by the Roman writer Lucius Apulius (ca. 123-ca 170). Psyche, a king’s daughter, is so beautiful that all who see her sense something divine in her features and accord her the honors due the goddess Venus. When Venus hears of this she is outraged and accuses Psyche of impiety. She instructs her son Cupid, god of love, to make Psyche fall in love with someone who will bring her sorrow. An oracle tells Psyche’s father that she must be married to a monster who lives on a mountain. Psyche’s parents have her carried up the mountain for this terrible wedding.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Octavius E. Coope [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, London, May 3, 1910, lot 46; George Robinson Harding, London, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1912, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
France, Limoges (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Diam: 8 7/16 in. (21.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1912
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
44.344