The Walters Art Museum Search

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Wall Hanging or Curtain Fragment with Dancer

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This nude male dancer, wearing a torque and holding two flower staffs, was likely one of a pair or set of such dancers decorating a larger wall hanging or curtain fragment.Curtains and wall hangings were used in private homes, as well as in public and religious buildings, to prevent drafts, divide spaces, and provide privacy. The tapestry weave of this piece is ideal for such textiles, as it produces a design that can be viewed from either side.

#2328

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Wall Hanging or Curtain Fragment with Hunt Scene

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This panel depicting a lion and leopard hunt likely decorated a larger curtain or wall hanging.Curtains and wall hangings were used in private homes, as well as in public and religious buildings, to prevent drafts, divide spaces, and provide privacy. The tapestry weave of this piece is ideal for such textiles, as it produces a design that can be viewed from either side.Though found and probably manufactured in Egypt, this tapestry fragment shows strong Sassanian influence in the stylized animals, as well as in the depiction of the landscape. Close parallels exist in contemporary sculpture.

#25703

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Wall Hanging or Curtain Fragment with Orpheus and Eurydice

2 pp 2 img

This tapestry roundel was likely one of a set that decorated a larger household textile, such as a curtain or wall hanging.Curtains and wall hangings were used in private homes, as well as in public and religious buildings, to prevent drafts, divide spaces, and provide privacy. The tapestry weave of this piece is ideal for such textiles, as it produces a design that can be viewed from either side.Though the majority of the population was Christian by this time, figures from classical mythology continued to decorate objects of daily use. Especially popular were portrayals of pairs of famous lovers. Here, the attribute of the lyre identifies the male figure as either Orpheus or Apollo, indicating that the female must be either Eurydice (Orpheus's wife) or the nymph Daphne (loved by Apollo), or perhaps one of the nine Muses, frequently associated with Apollo.

#23696

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Wall Hanging or Curtain Fragment with Riderless Horse

2 pp 2 img

This whimsical, saddled, and fully harnessed but riderless horse was part of a larger curtain or wall hanging of a type popular in the late 5th and early 6th century.Curtains and wall hangings were used in private homes, as well as in public and religious buildings, to prevent drafts, divide spaces, and provide privacy. The tapestry weave of this piece is ideal for such textiles, as it produces a design that can be viewed from either side.The complete hanging likely would have had many identical roundels (one is in the Cleveland Museum of Art) in staggered rows on a background interspersed with baskets and birds. These designs are traditionally Egyptian, while the roundel borders of heart or rose petal chains and the stylized trees are adapted from imported Sassanian silks.

#1842

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Wall Tabernacle in the Form of the Sepulcher of Christ

10 pp 10 img

In Catholic churches in Renaissance Italy, the tabernacle was a receptacle for a supply of consecrated wafers (for celebrating the Mass) frequently inserted into the wall next to the altar. This marble tabernacle was designed to suggest the entrance to Christ’s sepulcher, or tomb, with adoring angels witnessing the miracle of Christ having risen from the dead. The door to the receptacle proper (probably brass) is now missing. The consecrated wafers within would have been transformed through faith into the flesh of the departed Christ. Linear perspective creates an impression of depth, drawing the eye toward the door, even though the relief is shallow. the piece was purchased by Walters as by the Florentine sculptor Benedetto da Maiano (1442-1497), but scholars today place its origins in Lombardy or In any case in Northern Italy.Thistles and poppies are among the motifs featured in the decoration of the pilasters at the sides of the tabernacle. The thorns of the thistle and the blood-red blossoms of the poppy resulted in the plants being associated with Christ’s Passion and Resurrection.

#20210

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Wall hanging in form of a carpet; Central medallion and two broad borders

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#8637

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Wall light, one of a pair

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#16404

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Wall light, one of a pair

6 pp 6 img

#40164

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War is Declared Against the Trojans

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The Aeneid plaques are the earliest known Limoges enamels which deal with a classical subject. This plaque pictures King Latinus seated with his hands folded, unwilling to declare war on Aeneas and his companions who have just landed in Italy. The goddess Juno, however, an enemy of the Trojans, is about to open the gates of the temple of the god of war, Janus, while Latinus' men proceed with sounding their trumpets, readying their body armor, tempering their swords, and forging new weapons (Aeneid, VII, vv. 601-640). 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 (84th illustration, fol. 303 vo). The same cuts appeared in an edition issued at Lyons in 1517 by Sacon.

#38058