Temperance
Relief
1548 (made)
1548 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
For some sculptural commissions, a leading artist such as Giambologna made only the model and the work was executed by others. Ideas were also transmitted by terracotta models, plaquettes and engravings, as well as by decorative objects for which sculptors had provided designs. Peisser probably made this relief as a model for a silver roundel. He based the composition on Peter Flötner's lead roundel of Temperance (see inv.no. A.29-1954). It was possibly one of a set of Virtues decorating a cabinet. However, in the seventeenth century, a smaller roundel by Peisser, also depicting Temperance, was in the celebrated collection of Paul Praun in Nuremberg. This suggests that the relief was regarded purely as a Kunstkammer object.
Hans Peisser (ca. 1503-ca. 1571) was active as a woodcarver and architect in Nuremberg and Prague. He carved monumental wood figures for altarpieces, along with small-scale wood models for plaquettes and bronze figures.
Hans Peisser (ca. 1503-ca. 1571) was active as a woodcarver and architect in Nuremberg and Prague. He carved monumental wood figures for altarpieces, along with small-scale wood models for plaquettes and bronze figures.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Title | Temperance (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Carved Solnhofen limestone |
Brief description | Stone relief depicting Temperance, made by Hans Peisser, Germany (Nuremberg), signed and dated 1548. |
Physical description | The relief is signed and dated on the bottom. And there are some inscriptions on the reverse. |
Dimensions |
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Content description | The roundel shows the female figure of Temperance, pouring water into a dish of wine, situated in a pastoral landscape. |
Marks and inscriptions |
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Object history | Bought from Rainer Zietz Limited, London, for £6500, in 1992. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | For some sculptural commissions, a leading artist such as Giambologna made only the model and the work was executed by others. Ideas were also transmitted by terracotta models, plaquettes and engravings, as well as by decorative objects for which sculptors had provided designs. Peisser probably made this relief as a model for a silver roundel. He based the composition on Peter Flötner's lead roundel of Temperance (see inv.no. A.29-1954). It was possibly one of a set of Virtues decorating a cabinet. However, in the seventeenth century, a smaller roundel by Peisser, also depicting Temperance, was in the celebrated collection of Paul Praun in Nuremberg. This suggests that the relief was regarded purely as a Kunstkammer object. Hans Peisser (ca. 1503-ca. 1571) was active as a woodcarver and architect in Nuremberg and Prague. He carved monumental wood figures for altarpieces, along with small-scale wood models for plaquettes and bronze figures. |
Bibliographic reference | Williamson, Paul, “Acquisition of Sculpture at the Victoria & Albert Museum, 1992-1999”, in: Burlington Magazine, Dec. 1999, CXLI, p. 784, fig. V. |
Collection | |
Accession number | A.4-1992 |
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Record created | March 4, 2004 |
Record URL |
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