Architecture Pilaster Capital 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

Architecture Pilaster Capital

ca. 1483-1490 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This console, with acanthus leaves and other Renaissance decoration, came from a fort on the Adriatic coast. The fort was commissioned by Giovanni della Rovere, Lord of Senigallia and nephew of Pope Sixtus IV.A corbel rather than a capital, the object would have been set in to the wall at the point where the vault of the ceiling meets the wall providing an aesthetic termination rather than any significant architectural support.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Istrian stone
Brief description
Pilaster capital in Istrian stone.
Physical description
Pilaster capital in Istrian stone. Carved with a tapered bracket, from which rise two leaves and two volutes with, between them, a shell and two dolphins facing outwards and tied together by their tails. At the top a concave moulding, with, in the centre, a satyr mask.
Dimensions
  • Height: 45cm
  • Width: 36cm
  • Depth: 23cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Object history
Purchased in London by J C Robinson with 20 others
Production
From the Rocca Roveresca di Mondolfo near Sinigallia in the Marches, central Italy
Association
Summary
This console, with acanthus leaves and other Renaissance decoration, came from a fort on the Adriatic coast. The fort was commissioned by Giovanni della Rovere, Lord of Senigallia and nephew of Pope Sixtus IV.A corbel rather than a capital, the object would have been set in to the wall at the point where the vault of the ceiling meets the wall providing an aesthetic termination rather than any significant architectural support.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington Museum acquired in the Year 1878. London, 1879, p. 35
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, 1964, pp. 306
  • Raggio, Olga. 'Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum', Art Bulletin vol.L, 1968.
Collection
Accession number
368R-1878

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Record createdNovember 4, 2003
Record URL
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