The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 10, 2024

Vessel Ornament of Banqueter

Vessel Ornament of Banqueter

probably 400–375 BCE
bronze
Overall: 5.2 cm (2 1/16 in.)
Gift of Mrs. Ernest Brummer 1988.155
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The Etruscan banquet shared similarities with the Greek symposium where guests reclined and drank wine.

Description

This bronze banqueter figurine was one of six once adorning the rim of a large basin, now lost. Cast in molds with individualized details, most have grooves on their underside to attach to the basin. Minute traces of gilding remain on areas of clothing and skin (mostly visible only under magnification), suggesting that they may have been completely gilded. Two handles in the form of hippocampi, horses with serpentine tails, also belonged to the basin and are now displayed at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. The basin may have been used to hold liquid for a banquet, or was perhaps funerary.

This banqueter tilts his head toward his left hand, which may have once held an object, now lost. His right arm rests on his hip. Unlike the other banqueters, this figurine does not have exposed feet and his body curves slightly when viewed from above. This suggests that this figurine may have been made for a different initial use before being added to this set.
  • ?-1908
    Collection of the Marchese di Riofreddo e Gagliardi
    ?-1943
    William R. Hearst, sold to Brummer Gallery
    1943-1949
    Brummer Gallery, New York, NY, sold to H.K. Montif
    1949-?
    H.K. Montif
    ?-1987
    Ella Bache Brummer Collection, New York, NY, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1987-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Casa di Vendite Jandolo et Tavazzi (Rom). Catalogo delle pregevoli collezioni di oggetti d'arte e mobili antichi, spettanti al Signor Marchese di Rioffreddo ed ai Signori Gagliardi di Firenze. [1], [1]. 1908. No. 517
    The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. N5415 libmma.contentdm.oclc.org
    Galerie Koller Zürich. The Ernest Brummer Collection, Vol I: Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art. 1979. No. 547E, cat: 95-97
    GALERIE SPINK (Zurich). The Ernest Brummer Collection: Galerie Spink, Zürich. London: Spink and Son, 1979. p. 25
    "The Year in Review for 1988." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 2 (1989): 30-75. p. 68 www.jstor.org
  • The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).
  • {{cite web|title=Vessel Ornament of Banqueter|url=false|author=|year=probably 400–375 BCE|access-date=10 October 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1988.155