Capital thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Capital

ca. 1483-1490 (made)
Artist/Maker
Martini, Francesco Di Giorgio (maker)
Place of origin
Italy (made)

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
Architecture
Object type
Capital
Materials and techniques
Istrian stone
Brief description
Italian renaissance capital
Physical description
Pilaster capital of Istrian stone. Carved with a tapered bracket, from which rise two acanthus leaves and two volutes with, between them, a shield with the arms of Della Rovere (quarterly, 1 and 4 paly of four, a)Aragon, b)Hungary, c)Naples, d)Jerusalem, order reversed in 4; 2 Della Rovere, 3 Montefeltro) supported by a standing winged putto. At the top a concave moulding.
Dimensions
  • Height: 45cm
  • Width: 36cm
  • Depth: 23cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Production
From the Rocca Roveresca di Mondolfo near Sinigallia in the Marches, central Italy.
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. 305
  • Raggio, Olga, Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Art Bulletin vol.L, 1968.
  • Baker, Malcolm, and Brenda Richardson (eds.), A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V&A Publications, 1999.
  • Fiore, Francesco Paolo & Tafuri, Manfredo (eds.), Francesco di Giorgio architetto, Milano : Electa, 1993 XIV.I.I c
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
368P-1878

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O77568/capital-martini-francesco-di/
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