Collection record · Objects & craft
Lectern
The collection record classifies this work as furniture and woodwork. It is dated 1707. Recorded culture or place: Italy.
Explore the object recordOBJECT RECORD
A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Lectern
- Date
- 1707
- Culture / origin
- Italy
- Materials and technique
- wood and gesso
- Dimensions
- Overall: 167.7 x 48.3 cm (66 x 19 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1915.572
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Lecterns of this type were used in Roman Catholic churches and monastery chapels to hold the Bible, from which a priest would read the lessons of scripture and at some points during the liturgy, guide the participants in prayer. The high degree of decoration was achieved by applying plaster gesso to the wooden base allowing for elaborate carving in the same way that a picture frame is worked. Sometimes lecterns bearing the arms of a pope or cardinal like this one were gifts to mark the visit or favor of that official.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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