May 172013 Antiques and The Arts Weekly 311778is on loan from a - PDF document

1 May 17,2013 — Antiques and The Arts Week
May 17,2013 — Antiques and The Arts Weekly — 311778,is on loan from a privatecollection.The ornate crown fea-the base,with a lion and a uni-tle or butting heads.drum from Hanover,Germany,of George III,king of GreatBritain and England.The silverdrum,one of a pair in the Met’scollection,depicts a unicorn aspart of the royal coat of armsruled.As these drums werevaluable silver,few survivetoday.Another German stand-out is a circa 1425–50 aqua-items to see at The Cloisters.Awhole article could be devotedjust to the architectural ele-ments and stonework,but read-ers can learn more about TheCloisters at its website.Sufficeto say,among the most iconicare the cloisters themselves.The cloisters are mostly com-further decay by sculptorFrench countryside in the early1900s,who reassembled themson River.used in the Cuxa Abbey unitesCloister,from columns andarches to the fantasticallyRomanesque cloister arcade.dows throughout the museum’sthe illuminated manuscripts,metalwork,tapestries,paint-ings and sculpture on display.They take prominence,however,in the chapels and in the GlassGallery,where nine lunette win-dows are each inset with ninesilver-stained roundels.shine in the Treasury,where aJeanne d’Evreux,Queen ofFrance.Another highlight is theilluminated playing cards (ordi-nary cards,not tarot cards) fromthe Fifteenth Century.

2 Room is the Merode Altarpiece,dish paint
Room is the Merode Altarpiece,dish paintings,which was paint-ed in Tournai,circa 1425–30.Created for private prayer by itsowners,the altarpiece depictsthe Annunciation of the VirginMary.One of the most wonderfulaspects of The Cloisters is thatthere are wonderful works fromnot just France,but all overmedieval Europe,so a visit hereis like stepping back in time.Inone gallery,an impressive altarpredella and socle in alabasterby Franci Gomar,Aragon,Spain,circa 1456–58,is shownwith a very tall Paschal candle-stick at 77 inches,Spain;a trioof reliquary busts of femalesaints,South Netherlandish,possibly Brussels;and a brasslectern in the form of an eagle,Dispelling the notion that TheCloisters’ collections are static,always adding to its collectionsand changing exhibits around.“It’s very important for people toknow about the vibrancy of TheCloisters,”she said.In Novem-ber 2011,the museum kicked offa new era when it had its first“The Game of Kings:MedievalLewis.”The anniversary exhibi-nicely and visitors,both repeatand new,can count on seeing awhole new side of The Cloisterseach time they come.Fort Tryon Park(off Henry Hudson Parkway).For further information,www.metmuseum.org or 212- Of all the Unicorn Tapestries,“The Unicorn in Captivity,”circa 1495–1505,stylistically does not match the hunt themeand perhaps was created a

3 s a single entity.The unicornhere is sho
s a single entity.The unicornhere is shown here fenced in,but the fence is low enoughfor the unicorn to escape if it desired.Fertility symbols,including the ripe pomegranates,orchid and thistle,andeven the frog hidden among the violets,abound here.Museum of Art. Celebrating 75 Years At The Cloisters This pendant portrait of a woman (one of two),possiblyGinevra d’Antonio Lupari Gozzadini,attributed to the Mae-stro delle Storie del Pane (active late Fifteenth Century),isripe with allusions to matrimony.In the lower right cornerare two rabbits and a girl confronting a unicorn,the formerconnoting fecundity and the latter chastity. An impressive altar predella and socle in alabaster by Franci Gomar,Aragon,Spain,circa1456–58,is shown with a 77-inch-tall Paschal candlestick,Spain;a trio of reliquary busts offemale saints,South Netherlandish,possibly Brussels.Unseen at right is a 5-foot-tall brasslectern in the form of an eagle,also South Netherlandish.—A.Valluzzo photo Flowers bloom around the octagonal fountain in the CuxaCloister on a fine spring day.The gray stonework on thetower complements the intricate carvings on the cloister’spinkish marble.—A.Valluzzo photo Newsstand Rate $1.75 Celebrating 75 Years At The CloistersNuremberg,Germany,circa1425–50.An aquamanile is ain the ritual of washingsecular contexts,before Mas