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The large size of this relief suggests it was made as an altarpiece for a chapel. Because of its size, the piece was made in several, easily discernible pieces that would have been easier to fit into a kiln. The sections were then assembled, to be held together by the frame. The scroll bears singable music and text for the liturgical prayer that begins Gloria in excelsis deo, or ‘Glory to God in the highest,” evoking the sound of music for the viewer.
Nativity with Gloria in Excelsis Deo
Luca della Robbia (Italian, Florence, 1399 or 1400–1482)
Italian (Florence)
Renaissance
about 1470
Object Place: Europe, Florence, Italy
Medium/Technique
Glazed terracotta
Dimensions
Overall: 88.9 × 73.7 × 20 cm (35 × 29 × 7 7/8 in.)
Framed (Rectangular steel pan shaped frame/ two wall cleats): 89.5 × 74.3 × 5.7 cm (35 1/4 × 29 1/4 × 2 1/4 in.)
Mounted: 83.46 kg (184 lb.)
Framed (Rectangular steel pan shaped frame/ two wall cleats): 89.5 × 74.3 × 5.7 cm (35 1/4 × 29 1/4 × 2 1/4 in.)
Mounted: 83.46 kg (184 lb.)
Credit Line
Gift of Quincy Adams Shaw through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton
Accession Number17.1463
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSculpture
The large size of this relief suggests it was made as an altarpiece for a chapel. Because of its size, the piece was made in several, easily discernible pieces that would have been easier to fit into a kiln. The sections were then assembled, to be held together by the frame. The scroll bears singable music and text for the liturgical prayer that begins Gloria in excelsis deo, or ‘Glory to God in the highest,” evoking the sound of music for the viewer.
DescriptionGlazed terracotta; blue ground, white figures; slight green and yellow color.
ProvenanceBy 1896, Quincy Adams Shaw (b. 1825 - d. 1908), Boston; 1917; gift of Quincy A. Shaw, through Quincy Adams Shaw, Jr., and Mrs. Marian Shaw Haughton to the MFA. (Accession Date: March 29, 1917)