(c) 2018 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

(c) 2022 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Escutcheon

sculptor Unknown

Date17th century

Place MadeEurope

MediumCarved and painted wood

Dimensions113.5 x 142 cm (44 11/16 x 55 7/8 in.)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Accession numberF27w52

eMuseum ID727786

EmbARK ObjectID12676

Previous NumberP27w52 (GC)

TMS Source ID1740

Last Updated8/14/24

Status

Not on view

Web CommentaryThis polychrome wood escutheon was made in the 17th century for a member of the Brandenburg family in Prussia. It bears the crests and shields of most of the reigning houses of what is now Germany. It was probably made to be hung in the banquet hall of a castle.

BibliographyNotesEllen Terry. The Story of My Life: Recollections and Reflections (London, 1908), p. 262.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), pp. 239-40.

MarksNotesMarked (top, left to right): Crests of Minden, Nuremberg, Pomerania, Prussia, Brandenburg, Magdeburg, Mecklenburg, Halberstadt, and Hohenzollern
Marked (body, left to right): Shields of Stettin duchy, Russia duchy, Magdeburg duchy, Pomerania duchy, Mecklenburg duchy, Cassuben duchy, Weden duchy, Crossen duchy, Halberstadt principality, Jagerndorff duchy, Nuremburg burgraviate, Miden principality, Schwerin principality, Cammin principality, Stargaard principality, Ratzeburg principality, Rostock lordship, Hohenzollern principality, Schwerin county, Stargaard lordship, Regalien or Blut-Fahn

ProvenanceNotesProbably in the collection of Brandenburg family in Prussia, 17th century.
Purchased by the actor Henry Irving (John Henry Brodribb, 1838-1905) in Nuremberg, 1882.
Gift from Henry Irving to Isabella Stewart Gardner, 1902.