Step end thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 50a, The Paul and Jill Ruddock Gallery

Step end

Step End
1490-1501 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Florence (made)

This and fourteen other remarkable step ends in the V&A collection come from one of the most celebrated palaces in Florence. Commissioned by the wealthy merchant Giuliano Gondi, they display a variety of foliage and animals. One can be linked to a story in the Indian Panchatantra, or Fables of Bidpai, and others to Aesop’s Fables. Educated observers would have identified moral and political messages in this decoration.


Object details

Category
Architectural Fittings
Object type
Step end
TitleStep end
Materials and techniques
Grey sandstone
Grey Sandstone (Pietra Serena)
Carving
Brief description
Step end, carved grey sandstone with a hedgehog catching a mouse.
Physical description
Step-end, stone, carved with a hedgehog catching a mouse surrounded on two sides by a toothed moulding. At the end is a flaming device. From the Palazzo Gondi at Florence, begun in 1490 by Giuliano da Sangallo.
Dimensions
  • Height: 17cm
  • Width: 45.8cm
  • Depth: 18.8cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Object history
Purchased in Florence (Bardini). From the Palazzo Gondi.
Subjects depicted
Hedgehog
Mouse
Summary
This and fourteen other remarkable step ends in the V&A collection come from one of the most celebrated palaces in Florence. Commissioned by the wealthy merchant Giuliano Gondi, they display a variety of foliage and animals. One can be linked to a story in the Indian Panchatantra, or Fables of Bidpai, and others to Aesop’s Fables. Educated observers would have identified moral and political messages in this decoration.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1891. Arranged according to the dates of acquisition, with appendix and indices. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1892. pp. 8-9
  • Pope Hennessey, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964. pp.183
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
26-1891

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Record createdNovember 3, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O171424/step-end-step-end-unknown/
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