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Golden-colored sculpture of a crocodile facing right with an open mouth, lots of teeth and one intense eye.

The golden-colored silver object is positioned in three-quarter profile view as it crawls on its belly. We see most of its long body and two legs on its left side, part of its other front leg can be seen below the neck. Its head is turning slightly up and to the left. Its partially open mouth reveals lots of sharp teeth. The object is rich in scaly texture of a crocodile, it has a seam along the neck.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
BR65.15
People
Unidentified Artist
Title
Sand Container in the Form of a Crocodile
Classification
Tools and Equipment
Work Type
sander
Date
c. 1575-1600
Culture
German
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/222581

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Silver, parcel-gilt
Dimensions
5.5 x 32.4 x 9.3 cm (2 3/16 x 12 3/4 x 3 11/16 in.)

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of Stanley Marcus
Accession Year
1965
Object Number
BR65.15
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Charles L. Kuhn, German and Netherlandish Sculpture, 1280-1800, the Harvard Collections, Harvard University Press (Cambridge, MA, 1965), p. 25, cat. no. 49 p. 94, repr. as pl. XLV
  • Anneliese Harding, German Sculpture in New England Museums, Goethe Institute (Boston, MA, 1972), p. 16, repr. p. 55 as fig. 88
  • Peter Nisbet and Joseph Koerner, The Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, ed. Peter Nisbet, Harvard University Art Museums and Scala Publishers Ltd. (Cambridge, MA and London, England, 2007), p. 222

Exhibition History

  • Objects for a Kunstkammer: Early European Collecting, 1550-1700, Harvard University Art Museums, Busch-Reisinger Museum, 12/10/2005 - 11/19/2006
  • Ancient to Modern, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 01/31/2012 - 06/01/2013
  • 32Q: 2340 Cabinet Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 09/24/2019; Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/25/2019 - 03/14/2022

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu