Public collection via the Cleveland Museum of Art
AT-00010643About the Artwork
Many elite Florentine Renaissance homes had sculptures of idealized young women carrying nature’s bounty, such as this work. The motif stems from a statue by Donatello (about 1386–1466) that towered over Florence’s main public market. At home, however, the sculpture became a talisman for the family’s well-being. The city-state’s low birth rate was a serious political matter, and such a sculpture was believed to stimulate fertility while also promoting motherhood and bolstering financial success.
Provenance
Samuel Mather, Cleveland, Ohio.
Exhibition history
Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Giovanni della Robbia (Italian, 1469–1529/30)
- Date
- c. 1520–29
- Medium
- glazed terracotta
- Dimensions
- Overall: 110.2 cm (43 3/8 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Department
- European Painting and Sculpture
- Credit line
- Gift of S. Livingstone Mather, Constance Mather Bishop, Philip R. Mather, Katherine Hoyt Cross, and Katherine Mather McLean in accordance with the wishes of Samuel Mather
- Accession no.
- 1940.343
More by Giovanni della Robbia in museum collections
Open-access museum record · AT-00010643
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