The chimney-piece is closely related in style to the work of Desiderio da Settignano and was previously associated with the marriage of Giovanni Boni and Camilla Marsuppini in 1463. However, the iconography suggests that it was produced in the Desiderio workshop after his death in 1464, probably between Giovanni Boni's death in 1466 and the failure of the family bank in 1470.
The arms in the centre of the frieze are those of the Boni family, who were Florentine silk merchants and bankers. It is possible that the chimney-piece was commissioned to commemorate the deaths of Giovanni Boni (1427-66) and his wife, Camilla Marsuppini, whose portraits, surrounded by winged shells, are included on the frieze.
Brought from a villa at San Miniato, near Florence.
The use of the shell motif to represent salvation appears to derive from Roman funerary monuments where it signified the shell in which the soul was carried to the other world.
Physical description
The frieze shows two flying putti in the centre, that on the left naked, that on the right wearing a thin vest, and busts of a young man and young woman near the ends. At the ends are two projecting console brackets carved with a winged girl astride a dolphin and a boy astride a sea monster.
Place of Origin
Florence, Italy (made)
Date
ca. 1466-ca. 1470 (made)
Artist/maker
Desiderio da Settignano, born 1430 - died 1464 (workshop of, sculptor)
Materials and Techniques
Grey, carved sandstone
Dimensions
Height: 254 cm, Width: 374.9 cm, Weight: 326 kg cornice (upper part), Weight: 824 kg Frieze, Weight: 119 kg Decorated pilaster (far proper left), Weight: 263 kg Vertical (inner proper left), Weight: 96 kg Decorated pilaster (far proper right), Weight: 242 kg Vertical (inner proper right), Depth: 40 cm est. tbc by cons after decant, Weight: 1870 kg (Victor Borges)
Object history note
The arms in the centre of the frieze are those of the Boni family, who were Florentine silk merchants and bankers. It is possible that the chimney-piece was commissioned to commemorate the deaths of Giovanni Boni (1427-66) and his wife, Camilla Marsuppini, whose portraits, surrounded by winged shells, are included on the frieze.
Brought from a villa at San Miniato, near Florence.
Historical significance: The use of the shell motif to represent salvation appears to derive from Roman funerary monuments where it signified the shell in which the soul was carried to the other world.
Descriptive line
Sandstone chimney-piece by the workshop of Desiderio da Settignano, Florence, ca. 1466-1470
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Godby, Michael The Boni Chimney-Piece in the Victoria and Albert Museum: A Fifteenth Century Domestic Cenotaph, De Arte, vol. 27, September 1982, pp. 215-233.
Darr, Alan and Preyer, Brenda Donatello, Desiderio da Settignano and His Brothers and 'Macigni' Sculpture for a Boni Palace in Florence, The Burlington Magazine, vol. 141, December 1999, pp. 720-731.
Pellegrini, Laura. 'La produzione di camini a Firenze nel primo Rinascimento'. In: Giuliano e la Bottega dei da Maiano. (Atti del Convegno Internationale di Studi Fiesole 13-15 giugno 1991). Florence, 1994, pp.210-212
Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, p. 41
Raggio, Olga. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albertt Museum. Art Bulletin. Vol. L, 1968, p. 100
Markham Schulz, Ann. The Sculpture of Bernardo Rossellino and his Workshop. Princeton 1977, p. 111
Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1859. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 9
Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume I: Text. Eighth to Fifteenth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, pp. 135-138
Bormand, Marc; Paolozzi Strozzi, Beatrice; Penny, Nicolas. Desiderio da Settignano. Sculptor of Renaissance Florence. Exhibiton Catalogue, Musée du Louvre, Paris; Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence; National Art Gallery, Washington, 2007, pp. 30, 32, 80-1, fig. 52 on p. 81, p. 220
Exhibition History
At Home in Renaissance Italy (Victoria and Albert Museum 05/10/2006-07/01/2007)
Labels and date
5896-1859: Chimney-Piece
Grey sandstone (pietra serena)
Workshop of Desiderio da Settignano (b. about 1430; d. 1464)
Florentine; about 1466-70
The arms in the centre of the frieze are those of the Boni family, who were Florentine silk merchants and bankers. It is possible that the chimney-piece was commissioned to commemorate the deaths of Giovanni Boni (1427-66) and his wife, Camilla Marsuppini, whose portraits, surrounded by winged shells, are included on the frieze. The use of the shell motif to represent salvation appears to derive from Roman funerary monuments where it signified the shell in which the soul was carried to the other world.
The chimney-piece is closely related in style to the work of Desiderio da Settignano and was previously associated with the marriage of Giovanni Boni and Camilla Marsuppini in 1463. However, the iconography suggests that it was produced in the Desiderio workshop after his death in 1464, probably between Giovanni Boni's death in 1466 and the failure of the family bank in 1470. [2004]
Production Note
The chimney-piece is closely related in style to the work of Desiderio da Settignano and was previously associated with the marriage of Giovanni Boni and Camilla Marsuppini in 1463. However, the iconography suggests that it was produced in the Desiderio workshop after his death in 1464, probably between Giovanni Boni's death in 1466 and the failure of the family bank in 1470.
Materials
Sandstone
Techniques
Carving
Subjects depicted
Figures; Children; Lion; Putti; Coat of arms; Dolphin (animal)
Categories
Sculpture; Architectural fittings
Collection code
SCP
