Obelisk

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Object Name: 
Obelisk
Maker(s): 
Place Made: 
German, Berlin
Accession Number: 
2013.3.13
Dimensions: 
Overall H: 69.2 cm, W: 19.6 cm, D: 19.5 cm
Location: 
On Display
Date: 
1800-1810
Web Description: 
This obelisk epitomizes the European fascination with Egyptian culture, which reached its zenith following the expedition by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) to Egypt in 1798–1801. When the obelisk was made, Berlin was under the control of Bonaparte’s army, and it is possible that the work was commissioned by a noble French client.

More Info

Department: 
Early Modern
Provenance: 
Frank C. Moeller Fine Arts, Source
2013-08-13
Viebahn Fine Arts, Former Collection
Color: 
white
gold
Technique: 
casting
painting
Material: 
glass
paint
wood
ormolu

Description

Primary Description: 
Obelisk. White glass, gold paint, wood, ormolu; cast, painted. Four-sided hollow obelisk of gold-painted, white Flussglas on an ormolu stand whose four legs are designed as sphinxes. The sphinxes were made in a special sand-cast technique that is slightly chiseled so as to benefit the contrast between shiny and rough material, there are a few polished spots on the bodies of the sphinxes. The stand rests on top of a stepped base. A piece of wood atop the stand acts as an armature for the hollow glass obelisk.

Publications (4)

Ägyptomanie in Preussen: die Tafelskulptur zur Hochzeit im Königshaus 1804 (2016) illustrated, p. 139 (fig. 105); BIB# 150243
Recent Acquisitions (2014) illustrated, p. 13, left; BIB# AI98357
The Corning Museum of Glass: Notable Acquisitions 2013 (2014) illustrated, pp. 18-19 (#10);
Notes: Corning Museum Adds Major Work to Glass, Library Collections (2014) illustrated, p. 378, #8; BIB# AI100158