Images(3)

The Meeting of the Queen of Sheba and Solomon; Cherub Holding Cornucopias of Cherries

Francesco del Cossa (Italian (Ferrarese), about 1436–about 1478)

Third quarter of the 15th century

Medium/TechniqueTempera and oil on panel

Dimensions61 x 61 cm (24 x 24 in.)

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Walter Scott Fitz

Accession number17.198

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsPaintings

Collections

Europe

Description

Wooden trays, usually painted on both sides, were often commissioned to mark a child's birth and herald future prosperity. Although the meeting of Solomon and the queen of Sheba had no romantic outcome, both were renowned for their wealth and exchanged lavish gifts when they met. This scene, which emphasizes ornate architecture and lithe figures in courtly costumes, contrasts with the cruder execution, perhaps by an assistant, of the image on the back. The reverse depicts a cherub holding two cornucopias, which represent abundance, and wearing a necklace of coral to ensure good fortune, protection from evil, and fertility.

Provenance1889, E. Secrétan (d. 1899), Paris; July 1, 1889, Secrétan sale, Galerie Sedelmeyer, Paris, lot 183. By 1894, Max Chabrières-Arlès (d. before 1916), Paris and Lyon [see note 1]; 1916, sold with the Chabrières-Arlès collection to Duveen Bros., New York; June 5, 1916, sold by Duveen to F. Kleinberger Galleries, New York (stock no. 15096) [see note 2]; February 3, 1917, sold by Kleinberger to Mrs. Walter Scott Fitz (Henrietta Goddard Wigglesworth; b. 1847 - d. 1927), Boston; 1917, gift of Mrs. Walter Scott Fitz to the MFA [see note 2]. (Accession Date: February 15, 1917)

NOTES:
[1] E. Müntz, "Les plateaux d'accouchées et la peinture sur meubles du IVe au XVIe siècle," Monuments et mémoires 1 (1894), p. 221, first published the painting as being in the Chabrière-Arlès collection.

[2] Kleinberger Galleries Records, Watson Libraries Digital Collections, Metropolitan Museum of Art, stock card 15096. Attributed to Giovanni Boccati da Camerino.