Lectern for the Reading of the Gospels with the Eagle of Saint John the Evangelist

Giovanni Pisano

ca. 1301, with later additions · Marble · Medieval Art

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.

Artist

Giovanni Pisano

Date

ca. 1301, with later additions

Medium

Marble

Culture

Italian

Department

Medieval Art

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1918