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Source Description

This cover and its pair Walters 54.47, each with three nude young women--possibly the Three Graces--leaning against an urn, were for incense burners. The perfumed smoke was released through holes piercing the antique-style grotesque masks. Many small bronzes had a utilitarian purpose; incense burners were a typical product of bronze casters from Padua. However, while the figures' proportions, modeling, and black patina are characteristic of Italian workmanship, the elegant conception has much in common with works for the French court. Perhaps the sculptor was an Italian working in France.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
33070
label
Cover for an Incense Burner
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
33070
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Cover for an Incense Burner
description
This cover and its pair Walters 54.47, each with three nude young women--possibly the Three Graces--leaning against an urn, were for incense burners. The perfumed smoke was released through holes piercing the antique-style grotesque masks. Many small bronzes had a utilitarian purpose; incense burners were a typical product of bronze casters from Padua. However, while the figures' proportions, modeling, and black patina are characteristic of Italian workmanship, the elegant conception has much in common with works for the French court. Perhaps the sculptor was an Italian working in France.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1570-1590 (Renaissance)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
covers (closures)
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
36.8
height
15.5
depth
15
dimensionsRaw
H: 14 1/2 × W: 6 1/8 × D: 5 7/8 in. (36.8 × 15.5 × 15 cm)
Source extras
med
bronze
creator_ids
33562
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
00016eb11472e707