The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 17, 2024
Abbot's Stall
c. 1500–1515
Overall: 329.6 x 336.3 x 83.8 cm (129 3/4 x 132 3/8 x 33 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1928.657
Description
This elaborate chair most likely belonged to an abbot, the spiritual head of a monastery. The seat was built high in order to raise the abbot above those surrounding him as a symbol of his rank and authority, while the canopy above accentuated his importance and dignity. The stall would have been likely placed in a monastic chapter house where the entire community of monks would have held their daily meetings and deliberations. The linen-fold panels, the intricate ribbed vaulting, the open work tracery, and the many pinnacles are characteristic of the flamboyant Gothic style at the end of the Middle Ages in France and the Low Countries. The decorative profile heads suggest some knowledge of early Renaissance models. The fine relief on the seat back with the Tree of Jesse shows the ancestry of Christ. The stall has received some replacement parts in recent centuries, but the seat and canopy are entirely original.- The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 71 archive.orgThe Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 71 archive.orgThe Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 80 archive.org
- {{cite web|title=Abbot's Stall|url=false|author=|year=c. 1500–1515|access-date=17 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1928.657