Combat Scene

Label

Bronze plaquettes and medals were sought after by European collectors in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Made at a time when scholars and artists were increasingly interested in the Greek and Roman past, these metal casts could feature ancient history and myths to inspire their viewers. This group of bronzes celebrates ancient soldiers as models of valor. Such exemplars included both archetypal fighters and named figures. For instance, two plaquettes celebrate the mythological soldier Marcus Curtius, who sacrificed himself to the gods to save Rome by jumping into a crevasse. Other plaquettes feature imagined ancient battles, pausing the soldiers in courageous moments; they defend their city and drive back their enemies. In addition to being collected by the nobility, such medals could also be given as gifts as rewards for brave deeds.

Roundels were frequently incorporated into different types of dinnerware, such as water pitchers and basins. The episodes depicted in low relief usually encouraged reflection on morality or virtues in the midst of celebration. For instance, the roundel with the scene of Lot and his daughters, in which the young women ply their father with wine to seduce him, would have invited the viewer to reflect on the consequences of alcohol and drunkenness. A similar example is the Combat Scene, which likely once formed part of a functional object such as a cup. The design features soldiers in Roman costumes circling the perimeter in a dynamic battle; the round shape and domed surface encourage the viewer to turn the object around and around, continuing the sense of vivid action. Such finely crafted images would have made the functional objects to which they belonged into prestigious possessions.

From the 2024 exhibition Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, curated by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art, and Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

Anthropology 3.01, Introduction to Anthropology, Charis Ford Morrison Boke 1, Summer 2023

Studio Art 27.01/28.01/74.01, Printmaking I/II/III, Josh Dannin, Summer 2024

Exhibition History

Antiquity in Rome from the Renaissance to the Age of Enlightenment: Selections from Dartmouth's Collections, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 7-September 9, 2001.

Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, April 12-July 28, 2002.

Living with Sculpture: Presence and Power in Europe, 1400–1750, Citrin Family Gallery and Engles Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 23, 2024–March 22, 2025.

Recording War: Images of Violence, 1500-1900, Ivan Albright Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 20-December 9, 2023.

Publication History

T. Barton Thurber and Adrian W.B. Randolph, Antiquity in Rome from the Renaissance to the Age of Enlightenment: Selections from Dartmouth's Collections, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2001, listed p.73.

Roger Arvid Anderson, The Roger Arvid Anderson Collection, Medals, Medallions, Plaquettes and Small Reliefs, Paintings, Sculpture, Works on Paper and Textiles, San Francisco: Roger Arvid Anderson (published privately), design by David L. Wilson, 2015, p. 174.

Provenance

Blumka II Gallery (Anthony Blumka), New York, New York; sold to Roger Arvid Anderson, San Francisco, California, January 20, 1988; lent to present collection, 1998; given to present collection, 2016.

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