Paduan Fireplace thumbnail 1
Paduan Fireplace thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 62, The Foyle Foundation Gallery

This object consists of 23 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Paduan Fireplace

Fireplace
ca. 1510-1530 (made)
Artist/Maker
Andrea Briosco (style of)
Place of origin
Padua (made)

This grand fireplace would have dominated the principal room (sala) used for dining and entertaining. The frieze shows vivid hunting scenes, along with peasants and putti. A fire would have animated the shallow carving on the jambs and underside of the hood, as well as providing heat and light.
The chimneypiece has a Paduan provenance and is stylistically related to one in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, which came from Catajo and bears the arms of the Obizzi. The figures and animals are closely comparable with bronzes by Riccio, and the chimneypiece is among the most important surviving examples of Paduan Renaissance stone sculpture.


Object details

Category
Architectural Fittings
Object type
Fireplace
Parts
This object consists of 23 parts.

  • Chimneypiece
  • Left Hand Section of Mantle Returning to Wall: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Right Hand Section of Mantle Returning to Wall: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Central Section of Frieze With Small Animals and Figures: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Right Hand Return-to-Wall Portion of Frieze: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Left Hand Return-to-Wall Portion of Frieze: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Left Hand Projecting Console in the Form of a Triton: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Left Hand Projecting Console in the Form of a Triton: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Right-Hand Baluster-Shaped Shaft: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Right-Hand Baluster Base With Lion's Head: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Left-Hand Baluster-Shaped Shaft: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Left-Hand Baluster Base With Lion's Head: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Back Right-Hand Section of Surround: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Front Right-Hand Section of Surround: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Front Left-Hand Section of Surround: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Back Left-Hand Section of Surround: Architecture Chimneypiece
  • Male Head
  • Male Head
  • Male Head
  • Male Head
  • Female Head
  • Female Head
  • Female Head
TitlePaduan Fireplace (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved tufo
Stone
Carving
Brief description
Chimneypiece, carved stone (tufo), style of Andrea Briosco called Il Riccio, Padua, early 16th century
Physical description
Tufo fireplace carved with hunting scenes.
Dimensions
  • Combined weight of all weighed parts weight: 1166kg
  • Height: 231.8cm (excluding modern base)
  • Width: 236.2cm (along upper cornice)
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Object history
Bought from the Soulages Collection in 1865 for £400.
Subjects depicted
Lion Masks
Satyr
Swags
Tritons
Figures
Animals
Hounds
Boar
Huntsmen
Putti
Trumpets
Peasants
Woman
Basket
Hunting Scene
Nobleman
Lady
Bull
Animals
Hares
Summary
This grand fireplace would have dominated the principal room (sala) used for dining and entertaining. The frieze shows vivid hunting scenes, along with peasants and putti. A fire would have animated the shallow carving on the jambs and underside of the hood, as well as providing heat and light.
The chimneypiece has a Paduan provenance and is stylistically related to one in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, which came from Catajo and bears the arms of the Obizzi. The figures and animals are closely comparable with bronzes by Riccio, and the chimneypiece is among the most important surviving examples of Paduan Renaissance stone sculpture.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1865. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 12
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume II: Text, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century, London: HMSO, 1964, p. 508-510
  • Raggio, Olga. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Art Bulletin. 1968, vol. 50, pp. 98-105
  • Ajmar-Wollheim, Marta and Flora Dennis, At Home in Renaissance Italy, London: V&A Publishing, 2006.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
655:1-1865

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Record createdFebruary 2, 2007
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O131247/paduan-fireplace-fireplace-andrea-briosco/
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