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Tympanum

1884 (made)
Artist/Maker
Sullivan, Louis Henry (designer)
Place of origin
Chicago (made)

This tympanum is made by the US architect Louis Henry Sullivan (1856-1924) in ca. 1884. The tympanum with a semicircular arch of wedge-shaped bricks originally surmounted a window of the top storey of the facade of the Scoville Building, later SSA-Payment Center in Chicago which has since been demolished. It comprises of three segments in terracotta which are decorated with stylised acanthus leaves and scroll ornament, and a semicircular shell-shaped at the centre of the moulded architrave.


Object details

Categories
Architecture
Architectural Fittings
Sculpture
Object type
Tympanum
Materials and techniques
terracotta
Terracotta
Brief description
Tympanum, terracotta / brick, from the Scoville Building, Chicago, by Henry Louis Sullivan, American, 1884
Physical description
The tympanum with a semicircular arch of wedge-shaped bricks. It comprises of three segments in terracotta which are decorated with stylised acanthus leaves and scroll ornament, and a semicircular shell-shaped at the centre of the moulded architrave.
Dimensions
  • Height: 110cm
  • Width: 230cm
Object history
Given by General Services Administration, Public Buildings Service, Washington, D.C.
Historical context
The tympanum with a semicircular arch of wedge-shaped bricks originally surmounted a window of the top storey of the facade of the Scoville Building, later SSA-Payment Center in Chicago which has since been demolished.
Subjects depicted
Tympanum
Acanthus
Summary
This tympanum is made by the US architect Louis Henry Sullivan (1856-1924) in ca. 1884. The tympanum with a semicircular arch of wedge-shaped bricks originally surmounted a window of the top storey of the facade of the Scoville Building, later SSA-Payment Center in Chicago which has since been demolished. It comprises of three segments in terracotta which are decorated with stylised acanthus leaves and scroll ornament, and a semicircular shell-shaped at the centre of the moulded architrave.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.20-1977

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O313735/tympanum-sullivan-louis-henry/
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