Emperor Joseph I.
Sculptures
Artist | |
---|---|
Culture | Italian |
Date | 13th century |
Object type | relief |
Medium, technique | limestone |
Dimensions | 26 cm, 5 kg |
Inventory number | 1460 |
Collection | Sculptures |
On view | This artwork is not on display |
In twelfth- and thirteenth-century Venice, it was customary to decorate the façade of buildings with carved roundels (patere) that were adorned with animals and floral motifs. The roundels held by the Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest were made from limestone in thirteenth-century Venice. The majority of the designs derive from Byzantine and Islamic decorative arts. Certain motifs must have had symbolic meaning beyond their decorative function. For example, it is possible that this depiction of two birds with their necks interwined is a symbol of Christian love.
Balogh, Jolán, Katalog der ausländischen Bildwerke des Museums der bildenden Künste in Budapest, IV – XVIII. Jahrhundert: 1. Textband Bd. 1, Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1975, p. 37., no. 16.
This record is subject to revision due to ongoing research.