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Facade Relief with Two Birds
(Medieval Europe )
Originally painted in bright colors, many such reliefs graced the façades of the residences of wealthy Venetians in the 12th and 13th centuries. Their round shape probably continues an earlier tradition of decorating outside walls with inset ceramic plates. The marble of which they are made was brought by Venetian trading ships from Greece. Two companion pieces, with the same frames and diameter, can still be seen in Venice between the windows of a house at 1043 Calle de le Strazze. The exotic birds (probably parrots) flanking a tree here seem to allude to palace gardens, like the ones Venetian merchants would have seen in the East, and to the splendor and luxury associated with them.
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.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2008-2009 | Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Museum of Biblical Art, New York; Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha. |
| 1995-1996 | Medieval Art in America 1800-1940, Patterns of Collecting. Palmer Museum of Art, University Park. |
Geographies
Italy, Venice (Place of Origin)
Measurements
15 15/16 in. (40.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
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.
27.248