Sculpted by Giovanni Pisano, one of the finest sculptors of the Gothic period, this lectern was once a part of the pulpit at the Church of Sant' Andrea at Pistoia. It is in the shape of an imposing full-size figure of an eagle, grasping a book in its talons, which stands with head erect, facing to its left, wings held poised as if ready for flight. The head is a later replacement. A marble bookrest, hexagonal in form with a protruding ledge at the bottom, meant to hold the Gospels for liturgical reading, rests on the bird's wings. The eagle served as the crowning element of a Tetramorph, a sculptural composite of the symbols of the four Evangelists.
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Title:Lectern for the Reading of the Gospels with the Eagle of Saint John the Evangelist
Artist:Giovanni Pisano (Italian, Pisa ca. 1240–1319 Siena)
Date:ca. 1301, with later additions
Geography:Made in Pistoia, Tuscany, Italy
Culture:Italian
Medium:Marble
Dimensions:Overall: 27 3/4 x 24 3/16 x 16in. (70.5 x 61.5 x 40.6cm)
Classification:Sculpture-Stone
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1918
Object Number:18.70.28
From the church of Sant'Andrea, Pistoia, Italy; [ Stefano Bardini (Italian), Florence (until 1918)]; his sale, American Art GalleriesNew York (April 23-27, 1918, no. 376)
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Townsend, Horace, ed. De Luxe Illustrated Catalogue of the Beautiful Treasures and Antiquities Illustrating the Golden Age of Italian Art Belonging to the Famous Expert and Antiquarian Signor Stefano Bardini of Florence, Italy. New York: American Art Association, April 23–27, 1918. no. 376, ill.
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