1993.204: The Triumphal Procession Carrying the Spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem
SculptureGallery Text
This terracotta is modeled after a marble relief on the inside of the Arch of Titus, in Rome. It shows soldiers carrying sacred trophies looted from the Temple of Jerusalem while they proceed through a triumphal arch, just as actual soldiers would have entered the Arch of Titus en route to Vespasian’s Temple of Peace in the Forum. A masterpiece of Roman art from the first century CE, the arch was much admired and copied, and its sculptures served as models for artists who came to the Eternal City to study its ancient monuments. Although it is difficult to attribute the large numbers of copies that were produced in the late eighteenth century to specific artists, this relief has been associated with Jean-Guillaume Moitte, a French sculptor who first came to the French Academy in Rome in 1771, and who made an impressive number of drawings and small terracottas of the city’s ancient treasures.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1993.204
- People
-
Jean-Guillaume Moitte, French (Paris 1746 - 1810 Paris)
- Title
- The Triumphal Procession Carrying the Spoils from the Temple of Jerusalem
- Other Titles
- Alternate Title: A Scene from the Arch of Titus, Rome
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Work Type
- relief, sculpture
- Date
- c. 1797
- Culture
- French
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/226923
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Terracotta
- Dimensions
- 34.3 x 59.4 x 6.7 cm (13 1/2 x 23 3/8 x 2 5/8 in.)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
- Private collection in France, until 1992-93, sold; [to Daniel Katz, Ltd, London, 1993, sold;] to Harvard University Art Museums by exchange, 1993.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop, by exchange
- Accession Year
- 1993
- Object Number
- 1993.204
- Division
- European and American Art
- Contact
- am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Publication History
- "Principales acquisitions des musees en 1993", Gazette des Beaux-Arts (1994), 123, p. 57, fig. 251
Exhibition History
- Eighteenth Century European Ceramics, Harvard University Art Museums, Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, 04/02/2005 - 06/09/2008
- 32Q: 2210 West Arcade, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 11/16/2014 - 04/02/2019
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