Winged Altarpiece
Entry ID
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53 (14/01/2022)
Formal title of the work
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Winged Altarpiece
Description of the sculpture
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A large winged altarpiece created in the early sixteenth century for a church in Northern Italy. The lower panel on the right wing contains the scene of the Adoration of the Magi. Balthasar, depicted here as the Black Magus, is shown on the left of the panel holding a gold ciborium and wearing a turban.
URLs where this is recorded/available
Type of object
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Relief panel
Base
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Base present - appears to be the original base
Dimensions
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Height: 416 cm
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Width: 465.5 cm
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Depth: 110.5 cm
Materials
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Lime wood / linden
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Wood (unidentified)
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Paint / pigment
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Gold
Specific techniques used
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Carving
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Polychromy
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Gilding
Overall colour
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Polychrome
Does the Black person have a specific identity?
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Identifiable: person from Bible/Christian saint
Identity of Black person (real or fictive)
Attributes
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Golden vessel
Role within sculpture
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Minor role
Gender
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Male
Age
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Adult
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Adolescent
Status
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Royal
Clothing
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Wearing clothes – European/Western clothing
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Wearing clothes – ‘exotic’ clothing
Evidence of enslavement
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None
Evidence of 'exotic' status
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‘Exotic’ costume/dress
Action or activity
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Standing
Emotional state
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Indeterminate
Focus of gaze of Black person
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Unfocussed/blank eyeballs
Sculptural context
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Rural: Biblical/mythological
Sculptor
Place of production
Period of production
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Sixteenth century (1500-1599)
Date of Production
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c. 1500 - 1510
Date inferred from
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Recorded in related documentation
Price history
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1866: £250 (this is equivalent to £20,805.26 in 2022)
Original purpose
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Devotional
Original display setting
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Sacred: church
Current owner
Current / most recently known location
Accession number
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192 to D-1866
Provenance history
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1866: bought by South Kensington Museum (now named the Victoria and Albert Museum)for £250 from Dr Antonio Salviati, London
Current rights holder
License terms for reuse
http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/41, . and http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/42, . (no date) ‘Winged Altarpiece’, Black People in European Sculpture, accessed May 5, 2025, http://13.41.147.145/s/database/item/464
