Animal Capital
- Artist Culture
- French
- Date
- first quarter 12th century
- Material
- Limestone
- made in
- Bourgogne region, France, Europe
- Classification
- Architectural elements, stone & mineral
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 25 x 29 1/4 x 16 1/8 in. (63.5 x 74.3 x 41 cm)
width at base: 22 1/4 in. (56.5 cm)
depth at base: 13 1/8 in. (33.3 cm) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Contact Us
- Object Number
- 86:1949
NOTES
Cat-like animals, perhaps lions, pose with one paw on a leaf while they raise their other in a gesture of aggression. The animals’ bodies face forward while their heads turn backward. This contorted pose aligns the feline heads with the upper corners of the capital, emphasizing its greater width at the top and a narrowing at the sides. This is typical of medieval decoration that enhances the shape of the object that is embellished.
Provenance
- still in 1840
Church of the Notre-Dame of the Cluniac Priory, La-Charité-sur-Loire, Nièvre, Burgundy, France [1]
- 1934
Charbonnel Collection, La Flèche, France
1934 - 1949
Brummer Gallery, Inc. (Joseph Brummer, d.1947), New York, NY, USA, purchased from Charbonnel [2]
1949 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased through R. Stora & Company, New York, at the sale of the Joseph Brummer Collection, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, May 11-14, 1949, lot no. 594 [3]
Notes:
[1] An engraving of the capital lying among a group of architectural fragments near the church of La-Charité-sur-Loire is illustrated in an 1840 publication [Moreller, M., M. Barat, and E. Bussière. "Le Nivernois: Album historique et pittoresque." Vol. II. Nevers, 1840, p.10].
[2] According to Brummer's inventory card of the capital, he purchased it from "Charbonnel" on July 2, 1934 [inventory card, Brummer files, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, transcript in SLAM document files]. Charbonnel is likely J. Charbonnel, a dealer who sold other medieval objects to Brummer in the 1930s including the Museum's "Lancet Reception Window" (accession number 3:1935). Charbonnel's first initial is listed on Brummer's inventory card for the stained glass window [SLAM document files]. It is not known how or when Charbonnel acquired the object.
The capital remained in Brummer's estate upon his death in 1947 and was included in the 1949 auction of his collection ["Classical and Medieval Stone Sculptures. Part III of the Joseph Brummer Collection." Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, June 8-9, 1949, lot no. 594, p. 142].
[3] See note [2]. Invoice from Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc. dated June 8-9, 1949 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, October 6, 1949.
Church of the Notre-Dame of the Cluniac Priory, La-Charité-sur-Loire, Nièvre, Burgundy, France [1]
- 1934
Charbonnel Collection, La Flèche, France
1934 - 1949
Brummer Gallery, Inc. (Joseph Brummer, d.1947), New York, NY, USA, purchased from Charbonnel [2]
1949 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased through R. Stora & Company, New York, at the sale of the Joseph Brummer Collection, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, May 11-14, 1949, lot no. 594 [3]
Notes:
[1] An engraving of the capital lying among a group of architectural fragments near the church of La-Charité-sur-Loire is illustrated in an 1840 publication [Moreller, M., M. Barat, and E. Bussière. "Le Nivernois: Album historique et pittoresque." Vol. II. Nevers, 1840, p.10].
[2] According to Brummer's inventory card of the capital, he purchased it from "Charbonnel" on July 2, 1934 [inventory card, Brummer files, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, transcript in SLAM document files]. Charbonnel is likely J. Charbonnel, a dealer who sold other medieval objects to Brummer in the 1930s including the Museum's "Lancet Reception Window" (accession number 3:1935). Charbonnel's first initial is listed on Brummer's inventory card for the stained glass window [SLAM document files]. It is not known how or when Charbonnel acquired the object.
The capital remained in Brummer's estate upon his death in 1947 and was included in the 1949 auction of his collection ["Classical and Medieval Stone Sculptures. Part III of the Joseph Brummer Collection." Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, June 8-9, 1949, lot no. 594, p. 142].
[3] See note [2]. Invoice from Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc. dated June 8-9, 1949 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, October 6, 1949.