Frame
1580-1620
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The central part of the frame which holds the rectangular painting is shaped as a rounded, Classical, arch supported by a male half-figure on either side. The tympanum has figures of Vulcan, Venus and Cupid at Vulcan's forge. On either side of this central frame is a niche: the one on the left has what appears to be a figure of Mars, god of War, suggested by his Roman warrior's dress and the helmet at his feet. The right-hand niche houses Hercules, identifiable by his semi-naked appearance, the club he holds and the lion skin at his feet. Scrolling, horse-headed serpents complete this central section of the frame. The upper section comprises scrolling serpents with griffins' heads; standing cherubs holding tablets and urns decorate the upper edge of the frame, which is topped with a vase of flowers. Below the central section is a row in which four applied flowers alternate with three applied and cast three-quarter length figures. Two of the figures are angels; the central one appears to be the haloed and naked figure of Christ. Below this is a triangular-shaped pendant which includes a depiction of a scene from the Classical tale of the Judgment of Paris. Paris, seated on the far right, presents an apple to Venus (who is accompanied by Cupid) to declare her the fairest of the three women. Beneath the figures are the letters * P * I * C * V * P. These correctly identify four of the five figures above as Juno, Cupid, Venus and Paris; the first letter in the sequence, 'P', is curious as the third goddess judged by Paris was Minerva. The frame is studded with applied flowers which are painted with green or orange paint, and set with garnets or crystals (or imitations of these). Two holes in the lower part of the frame suggest two flowers are missing. Pearls, crystals, amethysts and garnets (or imitations of these) are also set elsewhere in the frame. Traces of blackish paint also appear on the horse-headed serpents, on the figure of Hercules and on Vulcan; green paint provides the background for the five figures applied to the lower part of the frame. The whole frame is currently mounted on board covered in green fabric.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | gilded metal, chased, with cast and applied figures |
| Brief description | gilded metal, set with pearls, amethysts and rock crystal (or imitations of these), South German, possibly Nuremburg or Augsburg, 1580 - 1620. |
| Physical description | The central part of the frame which holds the rectangular painting is shaped as a rounded, Classical, arch supported by a male half-figure on either side. The tympanum has figures of Vulcan, Venus and Cupid at Vulcan's forge. On either side of this central frame is a niche: the one on the left has what appears to be a figure of Mars, god of War, suggested by his Roman warrior's dress and the helmet at his feet. The right-hand niche houses Hercules, identifiable by his semi-naked appearance, the club he holds and the lion skin at his feet. Scrolling, horse-headed serpents complete this central section of the frame. The upper section comprises scrolling serpents with griffins' heads; standing cherubs holding tablets and urns decorate the upper edge of the frame, which is topped with a vase of flowers. Below the central section is a row in which four applied flowers alternate with three applied and cast three-quarter length figures. Two of the figures are angels; the central one appears to be the haloed and naked figure of Christ. Below this is a triangular-shaped pendant which includes a depiction of a scene from the Classical tale of the Judgment of Paris. Paris, seated on the far right, presents an apple to Venus (who is accompanied by Cupid) to declare her the fairest of the three women. Beneath the figures are the letters * P * I * C * V * P. These correctly identify four of the five figures above as Juno, Cupid, Venus and Paris; the first letter in the sequence, 'P', is curious as the third goddess judged by Paris was Minerva. The frame is studded with applied flowers which are painted with green or orange paint, and set with garnets or crystals (or imitations of these). Two holes in the lower part of the frame suggest two flowers are missing. Pearls, crystals, amethysts and garnets (or imitations of these) are also set elsewhere in the frame. Traces of blackish paint also appear on the horse-headed serpents, on the figure of Hercules and on Vulcan; green paint provides the background for the five figures applied to the lower part of the frame. The whole frame is currently mounted on board covered in green fabric. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | * P * I * C * V * P (These letters are engraved beneath the five figures in the lower part of the frame.) |
| Object history | The frame and the painting it contains were purchased by the Museum from the Rev. F. Byng for £70 in 1871. |
| Historical context | The object was identified as an 'Altar Piece' when it entered the Museum, and is described as a 'Domestic Altar-Piece' in the Museum's catalogue of foreign paintings (Kauffmann, 1973, cat. no.143, p.126). However, gaps between frame and painting on the left and right sides strongly suggest the two were not originally made for one another. Moreover, the mixed iconography of the frame is unrelated to the unambiguously devotional subject matter of the painting (it shows the Virgin suckling the infant Christ, with Joseph in the background). The frame and painting as they survive today may have been used as a focus for worship, but image originally enclosed by the frame is unknown. The frame's predominantly Classical imagery does not rule out the possibility that it was used for a religious subject, but equally it could have been used to display an image derived from Classical mythology or other, secular, subject matter. It is unlikely it would have contained a small, wall-mounted mirror: early seventeenth-century examples seem to have been larger (see the two examples in Miroirs, cat. nos. 131 and 132, p.190). |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Associated object | |
| Bibliographic reference | Miroirs: Jeux et reflets depuis l'Antiquité. Paris: Somogy éditions, 2000. 287 p., ill.
Catalogue of an exhibition held at the Musée départemental des Antiquités de Rouen, Oct. 21, 2000-Feb. 26, 2001, the Château-musée de Dieppe, Oct. 28, 2000-Feb. 19, 2001, and the Musée de Bernay, Oct. 28, 2000-Jan. 9, 2001. ISBN 2850564117. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 524:1-1872 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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