Abundance
Giovanni della Robbia
(Italian, Florentine, 1469–1529 (?))
First quarter of the 16th century
Object PlaceFlorence, Italy
Medium/TechniquePolychromed glazed terracotta
Dimensions65.79 cm (25 7/8 in.)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge in memory of Delia Spencer Field
Accession number46.840
On View
Not on viewClassificationsSculpture
Collections
This sculpture would have decorated a home in Florence. The subject resonates with civic meaning. Abundance was a sign of good government and civic well-being. This subject was represented in Florence in a large sculpture by Donatello, set in a central city square.
ProvenanceAdolf von Beckerath (b. 1834 - d. 1915), Berlin [see note 1]. By 1923, A. S. Drey, Munich [see note 2]; sold by Drey, probably to Delia Spencer (Mrs. Marshall) Field (b. 1854 - d. 1937), Paris and Washington, D.C.; probably by inheritance to her niece, Catherine Spencer Eddy (Mrs. Albert J.) Beveridge (b. 1881 - d. 1970), Beverly Farms, MA; 1946, gift of Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 12, 1946)NOTES:
[1] According to information provided by Mrs. Beveridge, this statuette and its companion (MFA accession no. 46.839) had come from the collection of Beckerath and were sold in Berlin. [2] The exact date that the statuettes were sold is unknown. Mrs. Beveridge provided an undated list of works of art that had been acquired from Drey, probably by her aunt, Mrs. Marshall Field. That the Judith was with Drey in 1923 was noted by Frank J. Mather and published by Allan Marquand, The Brothers of Giovanni della Robbia (Princeton, 1928), 188, cat. no. 212b.
