Read the visual description
This circular relief depicts a group of people engaging in various poses and interactions. The people are nude and are depicted with detailed musculature. Several people hold long poles; the pole held by the central person appears to be topped with the head of a bull. The relief is a brownish-gold color, with darker areas of patina obscuring many of the details of the carving. There is a small hole near the top of the sculpture.
National Gallery of Art · Sculpture
Ariadne on Naxos
Master IO.F.F.
- Date
- second half 15th century
- Medium
- gilded bronze
- Dimensions
- overall (diameter): 5.45 cm (2 1/8 in.) gross weight: 30.84 gr (0.068 lb.)
- Classification
- Sculpture · Plaquette
- Accession number
- 1942.9.209
- Credit line
- Widener Collection
- Time span
- 1401 to 1500
- Department
- CSD
Subjects and terms
- Paduan
- classical
- mythology
- Satyr
- Renaissance Plaquettes
- Bacchante
- Ariadne
Provenance
Oscar Hainauer [d. 1894], Berlin; his wife, Julie Hainauer, Berlin; acquired 1906 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); by exchange 21 October 1920 to Joseph E. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; gift 1942 to NGA.
Inscription
in exergue, in relief: .IO[HANNES].F[ONDULINI].F[ONDULI] [followed by a sprig of horseradish or "cren" to signify "da Crema"] (Giovanni di Fondulino Fonduli, da Crema)
Marks
Reverse bears former inventory numbers 30(?) in black ink (unidentified collection), P.60. (for Plaquette no. 60) in black paint (Bode/Thieme 1897/1906), and 52. in white paint (Hainauer/Duveen 1908).
NGA object ID 1369. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.