Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 2 pages
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
In Venice, with its great port, the Roman god Neptune, ruler of the oceans, was a popular motif for the decoration of everyday objects as well as elegant statuettes. The symmetrical, undulating forms of this knocker suggest Neptune's watery element and takes its shape from the flashing tails of his winged sea horses, the hippocamps, who draw his chariot.Door knockers were generally crudely executed since they were produced in great numbers by a foundry. However, the model for this piece, of which there are many variants, must have been finely proportioned and crafted and has been attributed to the Venetian sculptor Alessandro Vittoria (1525-1608). There are related versions in the British Museum and the Harvard Art Museums.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
457
label
Door Knocker with Neptune and Seahorses
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
457
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Door Knocker with Neptune and Seahorses
description
In Venice, with its great port, the Roman god Neptune, ruler of the oceans, was a popular motif for the decoration of everyday objects as well as elegant statuettes. The symmetrical, undulating forms of this knocker suggest Neptune's watery element and takes its shape from the flashing tails of his winged sea horses, the hippocamps, who draw his chariot.Door knockers were generally crudely executed since they were produced in great numbers by a foundry. However, the model for this piece, of which there are many variants, must have been finely proportioned and crafted and has been attributed to the Venetian sculptor Alessandro Vittoria (1525-1608). There are related versions in the British Museum and the Harvard Art Museums.
provenance
A. Seligmann, Rey and Co., New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Samson [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1917 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1575-1585 (Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
door knockers
bronzes
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
42
height
27
depth
14
dimensionsRaw
H: 16 9/16 × L: 10 5/8 × D: 5 1/2 in. (42 × 27 × 14 cm)
Source extras
med
bronze
creator_ids
6728
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
51b9daacd3866f10
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
8d184d036ad04c64
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no