ClassificationsGreek and Roman Art
Inscribed Door Frame
AAT Object Techniqueinscribing
AAT Object Form/Functiondoorframes
Place CreatedItaly, Europe
CultureItalian
Datelate 12th-mid 13th Century
MediumMarble (Luna [Carrara])
Credit LineCarlos Collection of Ancient Art
Dimensions41 3/8 x 4 x 4 1/2 in. (105.1 x 10.2 x 11.4 cm)
Object number2006.038.002
Label TextOriginally part of a door or window frame carved in the second century AD, this marble strut has been repurposed at least twice since antiquity. Sometime between 1190 and 1191, it was re-carved with an inscription naming Pope Clement III (died March 20, 1191) and the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (succeeded to the throne June 10, 1190). In the eighteenth century, it was then used as an internal scaffold securing a base and lid to the Roman puteal (wellhead) (2006.38.1) so as to convert it into a pedestal for a statue. This, in turn, was sold by the Scottish antiquities dealer, Gavin Hamilton, to the Marquis of Shelburne, whose widely-celebrated private collection of classical sculpture was displayed at Lansdowne House in London.Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 8, 2014 - Present
ProvenancePossibly with Gavin Hamilton (1723-1798), Rome, Italy, late 18th Century. Ex coll. William Petty (1737-1805), First Marquess of Lansdowne, Lansdowne House, London, England, from late 18th Century. Thence by descent. With Christie's London, Ancient Marbles from the Marquess of Lansdowne Collection, March 5, 1930. Ex coll. Joseph Altounian (1890-1954), France, thence by descent. Purchased by MCCM from Rupert Wace Ancient Art, Ltd., London, England.
InscribedCLEMTIS.T TII PP. ET HENRICIIT TII IMPER
Status
On viewCollections
- Greek and Roman Art
late 1st Century BCE - early 1st Century CE
second half of the 1st Century BCE
70-90 CE
mid 2nd Century CE
ca. 14 CE
2nd Century CE
ca. 69-96 CE
1st Century CE
19th Century
late 20th Century
