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Source Description
The fine relief represents the emperor Trajan (AD 98-117), setting out on horseback from Rome, who is approached by a poor widow who calls out, "To Trajan I appeal for justice!" Her only son had been murdered, and she was unable to obtain justice. Having established the truth of her story, Trajan satisfied her appeal. His concern for justice was admired in his own and later times. A pennant with the Habsburg imperial double-headed eagle carried here by one of the emperor's guards is meant to suggest that the Habsburgs as Holy Roman Emperors are the political descendants of the ancient Roman emperors and are as concerned with justice as was Trajan.The use of a finely wrought relief for a flask suggests that it was meant as a present, given the imagery, perhaps even for the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-1558). The relief also exists as an independent plaque, and the same artist made other plaques, but his name remains unknown.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
15217
label
Flask for Priming Power with the Justice of Trajan
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
15217
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Flask for Priming Power with the Justice of Trajan
description
The fine relief represents the emperor Trajan (AD 98-117), setting out on horseback from Rome, who is approached by a poor widow who calls out, "To Trajan I appeal for justice!" Her only son had been murdered, and she was unable to obtain justice. Having established the truth of her story, Trajan satisfied her appeal. His concern for justice was admired in his own and later times. A pennant with the Habsburg imperial double-headed eagle carried here by one of the emperor's guards is meant to suggest that the Habsburgs as Holy Roman Emperors are the political descendants of the ancient Roman emperors and are as concerned with justice as was Trajan.The use of a finely wrought relief for a flask suggests that it was meant as a present, given the imagery, perhaps even for the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (1500-1558). The relief also exists as an independent plaque, and the same artist made other plaques, but his name remains unknown.
provenance
Freiherr Adalbert von Lanna (1867-1909), Prague; von Lanna Sale, Berlin, 1909 [part II (?)]; Miller von Aicholz, Vienna [date and mode of acquisition unknown] (?); Castiglione, Vienna [date and mode of acquisition unknown] (?); Sale, Amsterdam, 1925; S. J. Whawell, London [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, Sotheby's, London, May 3-6, 1927, lot 295; Henri Daguerre, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1530-1550 (Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Arms & Armor
powder flasks
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
9
height
13.5
dimensionsRaw
3 9/16 x 5 5/16 in. (9 x 13.5 cm)
Source extras
med
gilded copper alloy
creator_ids
6211
collection_ids
REN
ARM
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
d743f83350649e60
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
91fd4de21b821cd9
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no