Column Lombardian Sculptor

This marble column is an important relic of early Italian decorative sculpture; based on its style, it can be connected to the twelfth-century Lombard school. Sculpture started to develop in Italy at the turn of the eleventh and twelfth century, and the Lombard school played a leading role in this process. The tendrils decorating the column show affinity with the carvings of the portal of the Church of San Michele in Pavia, while the decorative figures (various human and animal motifs and palmettes) are related to the reliefs of Modena cathedral that were made by Master Willigelmo.