The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Upper Paneling from a Sacristy Armoire

c. 1460–1475

attributed to Giuliano da Maiano

(Italian, 1432–1490)

Italy, Florence, late 15th century

walnut, inlaid with holly and ebony

Overall: 160 x 476 x 69.2 cm (63 x 187 3/8 x 27 1/4 in.)

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1915.526

Location: 117B Italian Renaissance

Description

The imagery on the inset panels is the result of a technique known as intarsia, the skilled inlaying of woods of different colors to create a type of mosaic, popular during the 15th and 16th centuries in Italy for the decoration of paneling and furniture for studies, small rooms, and church sacristies. This large set of five intarsia panels comes from an unknown Florentine church. In its original setting the panels rested upon a row of similarly decorated cupboards (a sacristy armoire) which were used for the storage of liturgical vestments and books. This panel would have therefore been seen at eye level. The central panel depicts the Resurrection of Christ. The two outside panels depict the emblem of Lorenzo de Medici-three plumes encircled by a jeweled ring above a scrolling ribbon containing the Latin word SEMPER (Always). Lorenzo de Medici (1449-92) was the ruler of Florence when this sacristy armoire was constructed and was the likely patron. It seems to be the work of Giuliano da Maiano, an architect and intarsia-maker also responsible for the intarsia in the sacristy of Florence Cathedral.

?-1915
(Sangiorgi Galerie, Rome through Henry W. Kent, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art).
1915-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Baccheschi, Edi. Mobili intarsiati: del sei e settecento in Italia. Milano: Görlich, 1964. p. 33
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 82 archive.org
Pillsbury, Edmund P. Florence and the Arts; Five Centuries of Patronage. 1971. Cat. No. 83
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced (detail): p. 94 archive.org
Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).
Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916).
{{cite web|title=Upper Paneling from a Sacristy Armoire|url=false|author=Giuliano da Maiano|year=c. 1460–1475|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1915.526