Capital thumbnail 1
Capital thumbnail 2
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

Categories
Architectural Fittings
Architecture
Object type
Capital
Materials and techniques
Istrian stone
Istrian Stone
Brief description
Capital, Istrian stone, from the Rocca Roveresca di Mondolfo near Sinigallia in the Marches, central Italy, about 1483-1490
Physical description
Pilaster capital of Istrian stone. Carved with a tapered bracket, from which rises acanthus foliage. To left and right lynx masks terminating in acanthus leaves, with, between them, a sphinx seated on a helmet. At the top a concave moulding.
Dimensions
  • Height: 46.1cm
  • Width: 36.2cm
  • Depth: 23.6cm
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 (destroyed 1864-1895) near Sinigallia in the Marches, central Italy.
Association
Robinson
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
  • Baker, Malcolm, and Brenda Richardson (eds.), A Grand Design: The Art of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: V&A Publications, 1999.
  • Raggio, Olga. 'Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum' Art Bulletin vol.L, 1968.
  • 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. 304
  • Adams, Nicholas and Krasinski, Jennifer. 'La rocca roveresca di Mondolfo' in Fiore and Tafuri ed. Francesco di Giorgio architetto. Milan: Electa, 1993.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
368J-1878

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Record createdNovember 6, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O85232/capital-martini-francesco-di/
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