The Negress -
 A 16th
century figurine carved from a single lump of ambergris by an anonymous
Italian (possibly German) goldsmith and ornamented with jewels of gold,
pearls,rubies and brilliants with flower forms of white enamel. There are
jewels on the cushion and the base is ornamented with filigree work,
enameled flowers and jewels. The piece resides in the collection of the
Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City. Full descriptions and
photographs of this remarkable object are available in :
- Rogers, Frances and Alice Beard. 5000 Years of Gems and Jewelry, 1940,
- p. 106, illus.
- Williamson, G. C. Book of amber, 1932, p. 227.
- Williamson, G. C., Catalogue of the Collection of Jewels among the Property of J.
- Pierpont Morgan
, 1910, p. 11, no. 7, pl. IV.
Charity with Two Children -
The Metropolitan Museum of Art also has a pendant with a figurine of Charity and two children
carved from a single piece of ambergris with a pair of matching earrings. Photographs and
descriptions of the objects are available in:
- Frederick Spitzer Collection Sale Catalogue, April 17 - June 16, 1893.
- Heinrich Wenke Collection, Hamburg, Sale Catalogue Heberle, Köaut;n,
- no., 144, Oct. 27-28, 1898.
- Williamson's Catalogue of Morgan Collection of Jewels, no. 7, p. IV.
Figure of a Bear -
The Schatzkammer in Vienna
(http://www.nhm-wien.ac.at/bundesmuseen/KUNST/2/MAIN.HTM dead
link 09/30/03)
has a figure of a bear mounted in gold and jewels thought to be
carved from a single piece of ambergris, referred to as bisam. The piece is said to have
originated in Augsburg in the second half of the 14th century. It is pictured in:
- Kris, Ernst, Goldschmiedearbeiten, Vol. 1, 1932, p. 45, no 72, pl. 33.
- von Schlosser, Julius, Die Kunst- und Wunderkammern der Spätrennaissance,
- 1908, p. 30, fig. 14.
|
John Singer Sargent, 1880.
Oil on canvas, 54 3/4 x 35 11/16 in. (139.1 x 90.6 cm)
Signed and inscribed lower right: John S. Sargent Tanger; pentimento of signature and inscription lower center: John S. Sargent Tanger.
Number 1955.15
© Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, Massachusetts
|
"Although portraiture is the key public enterprise for which John Singer Sargent is remembered today, the
foundation of his early reputation was also built upon the innovative subject paintings inspired by the artist's
travels to exotic locales during the late 1870s and early 1880s. Fumée d'ambre gris was Sargent's major
souvenir from a trip to Tangier in the winter months of 1879-1880. The painting's non-narrative structure and
monochromaticism, as well as its mysterious ambiance, ensured that it was repeatedly singled out for praise at the
Paris Salon later that spring. "
More information available at URL: http://www.jssgallery.org/
|
