Ceiling
furniture maker
Unknown
Dateabout 1500
Place MadeOrvieto, Umbria, Italy, Europe
MediumPainted wood
Dimensions890 x 587 cm (350 3/8 x 231 1/8 in.)
ClassificationsFurniture
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberF21c5
eMuseum ID729236
Previous Number638
EmbARK ObjectID14499
TMS Source ID3275
Last Updated2/20/25
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryIn 1897, Isabella Stewart Gardner purchased the ceiling of a building in the city of Orvieto, Italy. Little is known about its history. Probably painted in the early 1500s, the coffers - recessed compartments between the beams - depict mythological, biblical, allegorical, and moralizing scenes. The ceiling's large size, many coats of arms, and elaborate decoration suggest that it originally came from the palace of a noble family or a guild meeting hall.
BibliographyNotesCatalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 13. (as Roman)
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 168.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston: 1935), p. 191.
Betty Chamberlain. “Gothic Room” in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), p. 40.
A. Hyatt Mayor. "Mrs. Gardner Comes to Call." Fenway Court (1972), p. 40.
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston: 2011), p. 190.
Pieranna Cavalchini and Amanda Esteves-Kraus (eds.). Portrait (Boston, 2012), p. 47. (quoting the Diary of Willard T. Sears, 28 July 1901)
Lucia Bay, "Unveiling the Italian Coffered Ceiling’s Hidden Story," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 18 February 2025, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/unveiling-italian-coffered-ceilings
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 168.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston: 1935), p. 191.
Betty Chamberlain. “Gothic Room” in Alfred M. Frankfurter (ed). The Gardner Collection (New York, 1946), p. 40.
A. Hyatt Mayor. "Mrs. Gardner Comes to Call." Fenway Court (1972), p. 40.
Fausto Calderai and Alan Chong. Furnishing a Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Collection of Italian Furniture (Boston: 2011), p. 190.
Pieranna Cavalchini and Amanda Esteves-Kraus (eds.). Portrait (Boston, 2012), p. 47. (quoting the Diary of Willard T. Sears, 28 July 1901)
Lucia Bay, "Unveiling the Italian Coffered Ceiling’s Hidden Story," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 18 February 2025, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/unveiling-italian-coffered-ceilings
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner through Richard Norton (1872–1918), art historian and archaelogist, in Rome, November 1897 for 8,000 lire.
Object/Provenance
