Title

Capital with the Mouth of Truth. Palencia

Anonimous

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

This capital comes from the province of Palencia. Various hypotheses have been put forward about its original location: Dorothy Glass (1970) considered that stylistically it was related to the capitals of the monastery of Santa María de Lebanza, currently preserved in the Fogg Museum at Harvard University. For their part, Mariño (1986) and Rodríguez Montañés (2002) established stylistic affiliations with the church of Santiago in Carrión de los Condes, the church of San Pelayo Mártir in Arenillas de San Pelayo, the church of San Esteban in Montoto de Ojeda and the church of San Juan Bautista in Moarves de Ojeda.

It is unknown how the piece left the country, however, in the first quarter of the 20th century it was in the hands of the antique dealer Joseph Brummer. Later, the capital was bought by Henry Walters in 1921, who donated it to the Walters Art Museum (Baltimore) in 1931, where it is preserved today.

Description

The capital is carved on three sides: in the center two figures place their hands in the jaws of a lion; on one of the sides there are two figures, one of them with his face covered, and on the other side two figures shake hands. According to tradition, the act of placing a hand in the mouth of a lion was a test of honesty, something reminiscent of the Mouth of Truth located in the basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome (Little, 1993). This test was linked to a Dei judicium, which in turn refers to the other capital that reflects the idea of combat for the virtue of a woman. Thus, both capitals deal with moral issues, something recurrent in the iconography of the capitals of Carrión de los Condes, Arenillas de san Pelayo and Perazancas (Mariño, 1986). Stylistically, the figures are characterized by large heads, aquiline noses and bulging eyes (Glass, 1970). Likewise, the draping of the clothing, as well as the concentric circles on the knees are characteristic of the piece, which allows us to link it to the capitals of Santa María de Lebanza (Palencia).

Locations

• Last quarter of the XII^th c. - Early XX^th c.

  region

  Possibly from the province of Palencia, Palencia (Spain)

• First quarter of the XX^th c. - ca. 1921

  dealer/antiquarian

  Joseph Brummer, New York (United States) *

• ca. 1921 - ca. 1931

  private collection

  Henry Walters, Baltimore (United States) *

• ca. 1931 - present

  museum

  The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (United States)