Mortar
1500-1550 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This mortar with a hunting scene is made in North Italy, probably Venice, in ca. 1500-1550, possibly by the Alberghetti foundry.
The Alberghetti were a family of bronze casters from Ferrara and were active primarily at Ferrara, Florence and Venice. In Venice they were located in the Arsenal (from the late 15th until the 19th century. The object came to the museum through the Salting bequest. George Salting (b. 1836; d. 1909) - an Australian, who settled in England - was a prolific collector in a number of areas, including Chinese and Japanese ceramics and European art. By 1874 his collection had outgrown his residence in St. James's Street, prompting him to lend items to the South Kensington Museum. After his death in 1909, the majority of this astonishing collection passed to the V&A, where it was shown in its own galleries.
The Alberghetti were a family of bronze casters from Ferrara and were active primarily at Ferrara, Florence and Venice. In Venice they were located in the Arsenal (from the late 15th until the 19th century. The object came to the museum through the Salting bequest. George Salting (b. 1836; d. 1909) - an Australian, who settled in England - was a prolific collector in a number of areas, including Chinese and Japanese ceramics and European art. By 1874 his collection had outgrown his residence in St. James's Street, prompting him to lend items to the South Kensington Museum. After his death in 1909, the majority of this astonishing collection passed to the V&A, where it was shown in its own galleries.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Bronze |
| Brief description | Mortar, bronze, with hunting scene, probably by the Alberghetti foundry, Italy (probably Venice), ca. 1500-1550 |
| Physical description | Vase-shaped mortar with recessed lip and handles in the form of foliate scrolls. Acanthus around the rim. Acanthus on a cyma recta moulding below. On the body a hunting scene, punctuated with stylized trees, tufts of grass and flying birds, and showing on one side (from left to right): (a) a pacing huntsman with stick and antler suspended over his left shoulder, (b) a running hound, (c) a hunter stopping to pick up an object, and (d) a hunter blowing a horn and carrying a spear in his left hand. On the other side: (e) a running stag, (f) a leaping hound emerging from bushes, (g) a hound attacking a stag. On the bowl, a foliate design incorporating an oval shield with a trace of horizontal division. On the foot, downward-facing acanthus, with a plain base. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | From the Salting bequest. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This mortar with a hunting scene is made in North Italy, probably Venice, in ca. 1500-1550, possibly by the Alberghetti foundry. The Alberghetti were a family of bronze casters from Ferrara and were active primarily at Ferrara, Florence and Venice. In Venice they were located in the Arsenal (from the late 15th until the 19th century. The object came to the museum through the Salting bequest. George Salting (b. 1836; d. 1909) - an Australian, who settled in England - was a prolific collector in a number of areas, including Chinese and Japanese ceramics and European art. By 1874 his collection had outgrown his residence in St. James's Street, prompting him to lend items to the South Kensington Museum. After his death in 1909, the majority of this astonishing collection passed to the V&A, where it was shown in its own galleries. |
| Bibliographic reference | Motture, Peta. Bells & Mortars. Catalogue of the Italian Bronzes in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London, 2001, pp. 124-7, cat. no. 28 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.702-1910 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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