Tomb Slab of Fernando Sanches de San Pedro

CultureSpanish

Date1487/1509

MediumGray slate

DimensionsOverall: 80 1/2 × 33 × 4 inches (204.47 × 83.82 × 10.16 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number48-42/1

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

European Art

Terms

Exhibition History

No known exhibition history at this time.

Gallery Label

Whether these life-size tomb covers were made as floor slabs or as lids for sarcophagi is not known. The inscriptions running round their beveled edges name the deceased as Fernando Sanchez de San Pedro and his wife Maria Ortiz. The scrolls they hold carry prayers of supplication recommending their souls to God. The date of Maria Ortiz’s death is recorded (July 31, 1487) while the corresponding space in her husband’s inscription is blank. His scroll carries the date 1509, however, possibly indicating that he died in that year. The covers’ uniformity of material, technique and style suggests they were made contemporaneously. The heraldic devices at the covers’ corners are those of the occupants’ families.

Provenance

Convento de la Concepción Francisca, Toledo, Spain;

Convento de San Pedro Mártir, Toledo, Spain, after 1835 [1];

With R. Stora and Co., Paris and New York, by July 10, 1937;

Purchased from Stora by Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York, stock no. P13031, July 10, 1937-August 10, 1948 [2];

Purchased from Brummer by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1948.

NOTES:

[1] Following the suppression of the religious orders and confiscation of their property that occurred in Spain after 1835, many appropriated art works such as tomb slabs were stored in the Convento de San Pedro Mártir as they awaited sale. The Brummer Gallery stock cards for these slabs indicate they were purchased from San Pedro Mártir, but do not give a date or the name of the purchaser.

[2] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cloisters Library and Archive, Brummer Gallery Records, Gothic and Renaissance marbles, stones, and alabaster, Object inventory card number P13031.

Published References

Dorothy Gillerman, Gothic Sculpture in America, vol. 2, The Museums of the Midwest (Turnhout: Brepols, 2001), 230-233, (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.