Part of a tabernacle frame

Unknown

late 16th century · Poplar. Yellow bole, red and blue color. · Robert Lehman Collection

The forms of the cornice, arch, and pilasters on this tabernacle front were derived from furniture made in Antwerp in the mid-sixteenth century. The pilaster ornament, for example, resembles the ornament down the center of an Antwerp cabinet in the Museum für Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt-am-Main. The frame may originally have been fixed over a recess. The missing door probably had a painting on its front; the metal eyes in the cornice most likely held a curtain that could be drawn across the image to protect it.

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 16th century

Medium

Poplar. Yellow bole, red and blue color.

Culture

Flemish, Antwerp (?)

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975