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Source Description

This plaque is part of a series whose designs were based upon the woodcut illustrations of an edition of Virgil, "Opera," edited by Sebastian Brant and printed by Johann Grüninger in Strasbourg, September 9, 1502 (78th illustration, fol. 291). The same cuts appeared in an edition issued at Lyons in 1517 by Sacon.The plaque depicts a scene from the "Aeneid," (VII, vv. 107-134). After having landed in Italy, Aeneas, his son and his staff spread a feast under the boughs of a great tree on the bank of the Tiber: "they place cakes of meal along the sward beneath the viands- Jove himself inspired them -and they crown the wheaten base with fruits of the field. Here, haply, when the rest was consumed, and the scantness of fare drove them to turn their teeth upon the slender cakes- to profane with hand and daring jaw the fateful circles of crust...'Ha, we eat our tables too,' quoth Iülus, jesting..." Aeneas then cried straightaway: "...Here is our home, here our country! For my father Anchises- now I recall it -bequeathed me this secret of fate: 'My son, when, wafted to an unknown shore, hunger shall compel thee, as food fails, to devour thy tables, then in thy weariness hope for a home..'"Aeneas presides at the head of the table between Achates, his squire, and Ascanius (Iülus), his son. Ascanius and another squire of Aeneas, who stands at the other end of the table, hold buns in their hands. At the upper left, the source of the Tiber is represented allegorically as a rectangular trough, and on the top right, a maiden holds a leafy bough, as Aeneas prays "to the genius of the place and other gods," (vv. 135 ff.).

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
15337
label
The Fulfillment of the Prophecy of Anchises
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
15337
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
The Fulfillment of the Prophecy of Anchises
description
This plaque is part of a series whose designs were based upon the woodcut illustrations of an edition of Virgil, "Opera," edited by Sebastian Brant and printed by Johann Grüninger in Strasbourg, September 9, 1502 (78th illustration, fol. 291). The same cuts appeared in an edition issued at Lyons in 1517 by Sacon.The plaque depicts a scene from the "Aeneid," (VII, vv. 107-134). After having landed in Italy, Aeneas, his son and his staff spread a feast under the boughs of a great tree on the bank of the Tiber: "they place cakes of meal along the sward beneath the viands- Jove himself inspired them -and they crown the wheaten base with fruits of the field. Here, haply, when the rest was consumed, and the scantness of fare drove them to turn their teeth upon the slender cakes- to profane with hand and daring jaw the fateful circles of crust...'Ha, we eat our tables too,' quoth Iülus, jesting..." Aeneas then cried straightaway: "...Here is our home, here our country! For my father Anchises- now I recall it -bequeathed me this secret of fate: 'My son, when, wafted to an unknown shore, hunger shall compel thee, as food fails, to devour thy tables, then in thy weariness hope for a home..'"Aeneas presides at the head of the table between Achates, his squire, and Ascanius (Iülus), his son. Ascanius and another squire of Aeneas, who stands at the other end of the table, hold buns in their hands. At the upper left, the source of the Tiber is represented allegorically as a rectangular trough, and on the top right, a maiden holds a leafy bough, as Aeneas prays "to the genius of the place and other gods," (vv. 135 ff.).
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown] (?); Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1530-1540 (Renaissance)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Enamels
plaques
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
22.4
height
20.1
dimensionsRaw
H: 8 13/16 x W: 7 15/16 in. (22.4 x 20.1 cm)
Source extras
RelatedObjects
31131
38058
med
painted enamel on silvered copper
creator_ids
3932
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
5846f2b3341c427d