Media Information

 
 
 
Collection:
ADJUNCT MODULE D: WORLD ART
Preferred Title:
Silver Altar with Scenes from the Life of St. John Baptist
Alternate Title:
Saint John's Treasure
Image View:
Panel with inset enamel work
Creator:
Andrea del Verrocchio (Italian sculptor, 1435-1488); Antonio Pollaiuolo (Italian sculptor, 1431 or 1432-1498); Michelozzo di Bartolomeo (Italian sculptor, 1396-1472)
Location:
repository: Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (Florence, Tuscany, Italy) n. 97
Location Note:
Piazza del Duomo, 9
GPS:
43.772333 11.256222
Date:
1366-1483 (inclusive); restored 2006-2012 (restoration)
Cultural Context:
Italian
Style Period:
Fifteenth century; Fourteenth century; Renaissance
Work Type 1:
altar
Work Type 2:
relief (sculpture)
Classification:
Sculpture and Installations
Material:
silver; gold; enamel
Technique:
casting (process); gilding (technique); repoussé
Measurements:
115 cm (height) x 263 cm (length)
Subjects:
New Testament; saints; John, the Baptist, Saint; Restoration and conservation; Florence Baptistery
Description:
The Treasure was commissioned by Arte di Calimala (cloth merchants guild) for the Baptistery (which is dedicated to St. John Baptist) in 1366. The list of sculptors and goldsmiths who worked on it for over 100 years is long; it includes Betto di Geri; Leonardo di ser Giovanni; Tommaso di Lorenzo Ghiberti; Matteo di Giovanni; Bernardo Cennini; Antonio di Salvi; and Francesco di Giovanni. It contains more that 400 kg of silver and 1050 enamelled plates. It displays all the main trends of Florentine goldsmithing and sculpture between the Gothic and the Renaissance. The frequent assemblies and reshuffles of the altar which took place during the centuries have altered the original order of the reliefs and some parts have been damaged or even lost. It was disassembled into more than 1500 pieces and cleaned, a six year process that was completed in 2012. (Source: Museo dell'Opera del Duomo [website]; https://www.museumfl orence.com/)
Collection:
Archivision Adjunct Module D: World Art
Identifier:
7A2-I-F-MD-SASJB-A06
Rights:
© Scott Gilchrist, Archivision, Inc.

Silver Altar with Scenes from the Life of St. John Baptist