C899: Saint Lawrence
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© The Holburne Museum of Art, Bath
| Museum number | C899 |
| Title | Saint Lawrence |
| Object type | In category: Sculpture » Statuettes |
| Date | Circa 1600 |
| People |
Attributed to Venetian School - Sculptor(s) |
| Place of origin | Europe » Southern Europe » Italy » Northern Italy » Veneto » Venice |
| Condition |
Good |
| Dimensions |
15.2 cm height without base 21.2 cm height whole |
| Materials & techniques |
In categories: Metal » Bronze Rock/ Mineral » Marble » Marble |
| Description | Bronze figure of Saint Lawrence. He wears a loin-cloth and stands in contrapposto with his head turned to the left and his right leg forward. His left arm is raised to his chest and in his right hand he holds the now detached handle of a gridiron. The fragmentary remains of the gridiron rest behind his right leg. The figure stands on a flat round base mounted on a stepped, square plinth composed of three blocks of green and pinkish marble. | ||||||
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Subject |
Figure |
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| Notes | When in the collection of Sir William Holburne this small bronze was mistakenly believed to be ancient Roman. It has subsequently been recognised as Venetian work of c.1600. The gridiron identifies the figure as Saint Lawrence, a deacon of the early Roman Church. He is traditionally depicted with the gridiron on which is said to have been burned to death during the persecution of Emperor Valerian in 258. The small scale is unusual for a bronze figure of a saint and suggests that it may have been an object of personal devotion, perhaps from a larger ensemble. The marble base was added by Sir William in the nineteenth-century. | ||||||
| Muse theme | The Art of Collecting |
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| Muse chapter |
The History of the Holburne Collection » Sir William Holburne and his Collection » Arranging the Collection: Sir William at Home
The History of the Holburne Collection » The Collection » Sculpture |
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| Gallery Label |
ST. LAWRENCEItalian (Venice) c. 1600. Cast bronze on marble plinth. The figure of the saint is accompanied by the symbol of his martyrdom, a fragmentary gridiron. Collection of Sir William Holburne. C 899 (Unknown) |
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| Method of acquisition | Bequest | ||||||
| Provenance | Collection of Thomas William Holburne (1793-1874); Mary Anne Barbara Holburne (1802-1882), by whom bequeathed to the Museum |
