Alexander Ordering Homer’s Iliad to Be Placed in a Coffer
- Artist
- Jean III Pénicaud, French, active 1584–1613
- Date
- mid-16th century
- Material
- Enamel and gold on copper
- made in
- Limoges, Limousin region, France, Europe
- Classification
- Enamels, metalwork
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- image (by sight): 7 5/8 x 8 11/16 in. (19.3 x 22 cm)
framed: 10 13/16 x 11 3/4 in. (27.5 x 29.9 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 220:1923
NOTES
Under the direction of Alexander the Great (reigned 336–323 BC), standing in profile at right, a bearded man lowers an object into a lidded box. This story comes from the Greek writer Plutarch’s life of Alexander. Victorious over the Persian ruler Darius in 332 BC, Alexander’s troops had seized one of Darius’ most precious possessions, a coffer or chest, and brought it to Alexander, who declared that Homer’s "Iliad" should be put inside. The "Iliad" is one of the oldest surviving works of Western literature with its written version dating to roughly the 8th century BC.
The artist was one of a celebrated family of enamellists who specialized in grisaille, or gray and white, work. This sumptuous plaque, with shields and battle implements drawn in gold behind the figures, displays the late Renaissance interest in depicting the human form in elegant and artful poses that testify to the abilities of the artist.
Provenance
by 1890 -
Frédéric Spitzer (1815-1890), Paris, France [1]
1893/04/17
In auction at the sale of the Spitzer collection, Rue de Villejust 33, Paris, France, April 17-June 16, 1893, lot nos. 456, 457 [2]
by 1900 -
Maurice Kann (d.1906), Paris, France [3]
by 1921 - 1923
Enrico Caruso (1873-1921), Naples, Italy; New York, NY, USA [4]
1923 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased at the sale of the Enrico Caruso collection, American Art Association, New York, March 5-8, 1923, lot nos. 1060, 1061 [5]
Notes:
The pendant for this enamel is Jean Penicaud III's "Paying the Tribute Money," Saint Louis Art Museum, accession number 221:1923. Both enamels share the same provenance.
[1] Listed in the 1891 catalogue of Frédéric Spitzer's collection ["Le Collection Spitzer." Vol. II. Paris, 1891, p. 32, cat. no. 40]. Two years later, Spitzer's collection was dispersed at a Paris auction hailed as the 'Sale of the Century' with over 3000 lots. The auction, which included the enamel and its pendent, was held from April 17-June 16, 1893, at Spitzer's Paris home with Paul Chevailler and Charles Mannheim presiding over the extensive auction ["Catalogue des Objets d'Art et de Haute Curiosité: Antiques, du Moyen Age, and de la Renaissance." Vol. 1. April 17-June 16, 1893, lot nos. 456, 457, p. 81].
Spitzer was born in Austria, and lived in Vienna until 1852 when he relocated to Paris, and began to actively collect numerous art objects from renowned collections. At the time of his death in 1890, his residence at 33 rue Villejust was known as the Musée Spitzer, which housed over 4,000 objects [Truman, Charles, "Frédéric Spitzer," Oxford University Press, accessed May 17, 2004,].
[2] See note [1].
[3] A 1900 exhibition catalogue notes that the enamel and its pendant were lent to the show by Maurice Kann [Molinier, Emile, and Frantz Marcou. "Exposition retrospective de l'art francais des origines a '800." Paris: Librairie centrale des beaux-arts, 1900, p. 94]. It seems likely the Maurice Kann purchased the enamels at the 1893 Spitzer sale (see note [1]).
[3] Upon Enrico Caruso's death in 1921, the enamel and its pendant remained in his estate until the 1923 auction. Caruso was one of the great opera singers of the early twentieth century. Around 1906, Caruso began to amass his extensive art collection from shops all over the world; it is after this date that he most likely acquired the enamels ["The Rare and Beautiful Antique Art Treasures," American Art Association, New York, March 5-8, 1923, lot nos. 1060, 1061; Altobelli, Rita C., "Enrico Caruso: The Caricaturist," Old and Sold: Antiques Auction and Marketplace, accessed May 18, 2004,].
[4] See note [3]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, April 6, 1923.
Frédéric Spitzer (1815-1890), Paris, France [1]
1893/04/17
In auction at the sale of the Spitzer collection, Rue de Villejust 33, Paris, France, April 17-June 16, 1893, lot nos. 456, 457 [2]
by 1900 -
Maurice Kann (d.1906), Paris, France [3]
by 1921 - 1923
Enrico Caruso (1873-1921), Naples, Italy; New York, NY, USA [4]
1923 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased at the sale of the Enrico Caruso collection, American Art Association, New York, March 5-8, 1923, lot nos. 1060, 1061 [5]
Notes:
The pendant for this enamel is Jean Penicaud III's "Paying the Tribute Money," Saint Louis Art Museum, accession number 221:1923. Both enamels share the same provenance.
[1] Listed in the 1891 catalogue of Frédéric Spitzer's collection ["Le Collection Spitzer." Vol. II. Paris, 1891, p. 32, cat. no. 40]. Two years later, Spitzer's collection was dispersed at a Paris auction hailed as the 'Sale of the Century' with over 3000 lots. The auction, which included the enamel and its pendent, was held from April 17-June 16, 1893, at Spitzer's Paris home with Paul Chevailler and Charles Mannheim presiding over the extensive auction ["Catalogue des Objets d'Art et de Haute Curiosité: Antiques, du Moyen Age, and de la Renaissance." Vol. 1. April 17-June 16, 1893, lot nos. 456, 457, p. 81].
Spitzer was born in Austria, and lived in Vienna until 1852 when he relocated to Paris, and began to actively collect numerous art objects from renowned collections. At the time of his death in 1890, his residence at 33 rue Villejust was known as the Musée Spitzer, which housed over 4,000 objects [Truman, Charles, "Frédéric Spitzer," Oxford University Press, accessed May 17, 2004,
[2] See note [1].
[3] A 1900 exhibition catalogue notes that the enamel and its pendant were lent to the show by Maurice Kann [Molinier, Emile, and Frantz Marcou. "Exposition retrospective de l'art francais des origines a '800." Paris: Librairie centrale des beaux-arts, 1900, p. 94]. It seems likely the Maurice Kann purchased the enamels at the 1893 Spitzer sale (see note [1]).
[3] Upon Enrico Caruso's death in 1921, the enamel and its pendant remained in his estate until the 1923 auction. Caruso was one of the great opera singers of the early twentieth century. Around 1906, Caruso began to amass his extensive art collection from shops all over the world; it is after this date that he most likely acquired the enamels ["The Rare and Beautiful Antique Art Treasures," American Art Association, New York, March 5-8, 1923, lot nos. 1060, 1061; Altobelli, Rita C., "Enrico Caruso: The Caricaturist," Old and Sold: Antiques Auction and Marketplace, accessed May 18, 2004,
[4] See note [3]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, April 6, 1923.