New-York tribune., 1921-11-17

Gets Prudence
By Della Robbia
Sculpture Of Double-Faced
Woman From Palace Near
Florence Placed ON View
With New Acquisitions
Stained ClassesAssembIed
Museum to Offer Exhibit
From Fine Arts Academy
of Japan Nov. 3O-Dac. 26

A large enameled terra Gotta sculp-
ture by Luca della Robbia from a
palace near Florence, Italy, has been
obtained by che Metropolitan Museum
of Art after more than eight years
effort, and will be placed on exhibi-
tion there to-day, together with other
recent accessions just announced in the
November museum bulletin.
The sculpture is circular medallion
or tondo five feet nine inches in diam
eter and regarded as unusually import
ant, there being but one other example
by Luca in the museum It was OBJ
tanned this year at the sale of the He'll
bronner collection in Paris, where it
was seen and sought by the museum
authorities before the war. The sub
ject is prudence" represented by a
half female figure holding in her right
hand mirror, emblem of reflection,
and in her left hand serpent, typi-
flying wisdom. 1t is modelled in high
relief, as is the surrounding wreath
border Of fruit and leaves bound with
ribbon.
Figure Double-Faced
The figure is enameled white, the
background light blue, while the grapes,
ounces, citrons, pine cones, oranges
and cucumbers that make up the bril-
liantly formed and colored garland are
in shades of green, yellow and violet.
Although the figure is woman, the
back of her head is modelled to repre-
sent the mask of bearded man. The
symbology of the two faces is said
to mean that prudence gives to youth
the wisdom of old age as we'll as that
prudence looks forward and backward
The tondo is presumed to belong to
a series of three, depicting the virtues
of which Faith" and Temperance, "
the latter in the Cluny Museum. are
the other two. In date the reliefs are
assigned to 1450-'6O. The museum ex-
emple is in Gallery J-12-
Two fine Roman sculpture portraits
and two stained glass roundels are
other recent acquisitions Of note. The
former are on exhibition in the room
display of early European embroideries
are seen. The sculptures are heads of
men of the Republican period, first
century, B. c., similar to the types of
the day of Julius Caesar. They embody
the characteristic early Italian realism
in portrait sculpture, and are in fine
preservation. Both examples were
found in Egypt. and are credited to the
Rogers fund. One is half life size, and
represents middle-aged man. The
other is in miniature, representing the
younger.
Stained Glasses Assembled
The museums entire collection of
fine stained glass, which has been in
storage for want of a suitable gallery,
has just been assembled in the gold
room. The new pieces are roundels
from the English fifteenth century, and
q six pointed star device, French, of the
fourteenth century, the latter being a
detail for larger composition. The
English example represents a brown
eagle or whitish glass and an inscrip-
tion. III Principle erat vbu." An
other new object is the painted case
ment sash of the Netherlands, dated
1920. In all there are forty-six pieces
in the newly-arranged gallery, number
ing examples from the Fletcher, Law
renee and other collections.
The needlework examples recently
obtained are from the nineteenth CEN
tury and from various European
sources, being the gifts of Margaret
Taylor Johnston and others. Included
are fine embroidery costumes. Two
north Italian columns Of red twisted
marble from the portal of twelfth
century cathedral and small Flemish
marble relief, part Of a decoration from
tomb, representing figures in a
mourning procession. are other new
pieces.
The museu mannounces an exhibi-
tion of modern Japanese art from the
Fine Arts Academy of Japan which will
be held in Room Hill from November
80 till December 26.
So far this year the museum has
broken all attendance records. 962, ,179
persons having visited the galleries to
November IA. This is more than $4,000
ahead of the previous record, made in
1909, the year of the Hudson Fulton
celebration. Ten thousand persons
passed the doors last Sunday.
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