Cleveland Museum of Art

Mortar

Date

c. 1550–1560

Medium

bronze

Culture

Germany

Department

European Painting and Sculpture

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Three reliefs curiously combine faith, hope, and vanity. They were made after works by Peter Flötner (more refined plaquettes by the artist are also in the museum's collection), then incorporated into the vessel. The plants and small reptiles were cast from life, an example of the strong interest in natural history in Renaissance Nuremberg. This tradition relates closely to the French ceramics by Palissy, also in the collection, which likewise incorporate natural specimens.

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