Mortar with Animal Frieze

Caspar Gras|Henrich Reinhart

1603 · Bronze · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Mortars were used in daily life in domestic settings to grind seeds, grains, spices and herbs as well as numerous ingredients for cooking, and simple medicines and cosmetics. The sculptor Caspar Gras (1585–1674) worked for the Innsbruck Habsburg court from 1613 to 1632. Through his training with Hubert Gerhard, himself student of Giambologna in Florence. Gras became one of the artists who was instrumental in the transmission of Giambologna’s style to the Northern Europe. Dated "1603" this mortar is the sculptor’s earliest work presently known.

Artist

Caspar Gras|Henrich Reinhart

Date

1603

Medium

Bronze

Culture

German, Innsbruck

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Purchase, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Acquisitions Fund, 2017