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Source Description

The imagery on the inset panels is the result of a technique known as intarsia, the skilled inlaying of woods of different colors to create a type of mosaic, popular during the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy for the decoration of paneling and furniture for studies, small rooms, and church sacristies. This large set of five intarsia panels comes from an unknown Florentine church. In its original setting the panels rested upon a row of similarly decorated cupboards (a sacristy armoire) which were used for the storage of liturgical vestments and books. This panel would have therefore been seen at eye level. The central panel depicts the Resurrection of Christ. The two outside panels depict the emblem of Lorenzo de Medici-three plumes encircled by a jeweled ring above a scrolling ribbon containing the Latin word SEMPER (Always). Lorenzo de Medici (1449-92) was the ruler of Florence when this sacristy armoire was constructed and was the likely patron. It seems to be the work of Giuliano da Maiano, an architect and intarsia-maker also responsible for the intarsia in the sacristy of Florence Cathedral.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
94965
label
Upper Paneling from a Sacristy Armoire
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
94965
contentType
object
title
Upper Paneling from a Sacristy Armoire
description
The imagery on the inset panels is the result of a technique known as intarsia, the skilled inlaying of woods of different colors to create a type of mosaic, popular during the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy for the decoration of paneling and furniture for studies, small rooms, and church sacristies. This large set of five intarsia panels comes from an unknown Florentine church. In its original setting the panels rested upon a row of similarly decorated cupboards (a sacristy armoire) which were used for the storage of liturgical vestments and books. This panel would have therefore been seen at eye level. The central panel depicts the Resurrection of Christ. The two outside panels depict the emblem of Lorenzo de Medici-three plumes encircled by a jeweled ring above a scrolling ribbon containing the Latin word SEMPER (Always). Lorenzo de Medici (1449-92) was the ruler of Florence when this sacristy armoire was constructed and was the likely patron. It seems to be the work of Giuliano da Maiano, an architect and intarsia-maker also responsible for the intarsia in the sacristy of Florence Cathedral.
date
c. 1460–1475
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60757098
creators
62793
genreSpecific
Furniture and woodwork
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 160 x 476 x 69.2 cm (63 x 187 3/8 x 27 1/4 in.)
cul
Italy, Florence, late 15th century
accession
1915.526
Source extras
tec
walnut, inlaid with holly and ebony
tombstone
Upper Paneling from a Sacristy Armoire, c. 1460–1475. Attributed to Giuliano da Maiano (Italian, 1432–1490). Walnut, inlaid with holly and ebony; overall: 160 x 476 x 69.2 cm (63 x 187 3/8 x 27 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, 1915.526
collection
MED - Renaissance
inscriptions
inscription
in four of the five panels is the Medici badge of a jeweled ring wound with a ribbon or bannerole, on which is inscribed the motto "Semper." The frieze in the cornice contains part of a quotation from the Vulgate, Paul's epistle to the Romans, Chapter XI.
formerAccessionNumbers
193.1915
citations
citation
Baccheschi, Edi. <em>Mobili intarsiati: del sei e settecento in Italia</em>. Milano: Görlich, 1964.
page_number
p. 33
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 82
citation
Pillsbury, Edmund P. <em>Florence and the Arts; Five Centuries of Patronage</em>. 1971.
page_number
Cat. No. 83
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced (detail): p. 94
creditline
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:04:14.293000
sourceId
94965
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Renaissance
med
walnut, inlaid with holly and ebony
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
b5ad2080192fe3a7