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Cover for an Incense Burner
(Renaissance Europe )
This cover and its pair Walters 54.47, each with three nude young women--possibly the Three Graces--leaning against an urn, were for incense burners. The perfumed smoke was released through holes piercing the antique-style grotesque masks. Many small bronzes had a utilitarian purpose; incense burners were a typical product of bronze casters from Padua. However, while the figures' proportions, modeling, and black patina are characteristic of Italian workmanship, the elegant conception has much in common with works for the French court. Perhaps the sculptor was an Italian working in France.
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 and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
France, Paris
(Place of Origin)
Italy (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 14 1/2 × W: 6 1/8 × D: 5 7/8 in. (36.8 × 15.5 × 15 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
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.
54.48
