Italian, in late 15th-century style

inscribed: 8/56/0079 in pencil to the base of one of the columns

Inventory of L. Bernheimer, at Palais Bernheimer, Lenbachplatz, Munich 

Overall the condition of the portal surround is good, with dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The structure is composed of sections, which are loose. These consist of: Two columns, two capitals, a top panel with a frieze, a tympanum, and two sections that form the roof of the tympanum. There is a dark grey layer to the surface throughout, except for the tympanum relief. In some areas the stone appears lighter in colour, including where there are chips. There are numerous chips and minor losses, to the edges and corners, notably: the bottom edges of the columns and a corner at the foot of one of the columns, a corner of the tympanum, the top edge and one of the top corners of the sections framing the tympanum, the bottom corner of one of the capitals, and the top left corner of the top panel. There are further chips and abrasions to the carvings, including: to the flutes of the columns, to the edges of the scrolls and some of the foliage on the capitals, to the proper right arm of one of the figures and some of the foliage in the relief on the top section, to the proper right foot of the right hand putto on the tympanum, and to some of the corners of the dental moulding. One of the columns appears to have been reattached at the lower half; a joint is visible with some losses around it. There are several stable, naturally occurring hairline fissures to the stone. There are stable but slightly open fissures to one of the capitals, having led to minor losses; one to the scrollwork at the top left, and another to the foliage at the bottom right. A section at the front top left corner of this capital has been reattached, and there is a loss behind this area. There are several scratches, notably to the columns.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This spectacular portal surround is the largest architectural piece from the Bernheimer lapidarium that remains in the possession of the family. Carved in limestone in the style of Florentine Renaissance architecture and decorated with classical ornament, grotesques and a coat of arms, the portal was until recently the centrepiece of the Great Gallery at Burg Marquartstein.

The overall design of the portal surround is consistent with 15th-century Florentine architectural modes, which came to be adopted across Northern Italy during the Renaissance. Sculptor-architects such as Brunelleschi and Donatello employed the same classicising design to frame sculpture niches, lavabos, and tabernacles in and outside Florentine churches: Fluted pilaster columns with ornate composite capitals are surmounted by a frieze with floral or figurative motifs on which rests a tympanum, framed by ornamental beams with carved decorations such as dentil moulding.

Stone surrounds of this kind were used not only in ecclesiastical contexts but also in Renaissance homes, both outside and inside palazzi as door or window frames. This dual use is mirrored by the present portal’s history in the Bernheimer collection, as it was transferred from an outdoor setting in the Italian Courtyard of the Palais Bernheimer to the interior of Burg Marquartstein. An example of an elaborately carved stone doorway from the interior of an Italian Renaissance palace survives at the Victoria and Albert Museum; the entrance to the main hall of the Palazzo Ducale in Gubbio (inv. no. 101:13-1886). Another stone portal surround from a palazzo which is almost identical in its composition to the Bernheimer portal is illustrated by Lucy Abbot Throop in her publication on historical interiors (op. cit., p. 9). It too features a tympanum in which two putti are holding a coat of arms, which appears to be that of the Medici, suggesting that this portal surround was photographed in Florence.

Despite its similarities to Florentine examples, it is unlikely that the Bernheimer portal originates from Renaissance Florence. Almost all Tuscan pieces of this kind are made from marble or a grey sandstone known as pietra serena, contrasting with the whitish limestone used for the present portal. The carvings, though imaginative and accomplished, are also distinct from the refined and highly naturalistic style found in Florence. Instead, the figures in the grotesque frieze of the Bernheimer portal, being rather stocky and angular, are comparable to Lombard carvings, such as those on the portal of S. Maria dei Miracoli in Brescia from circa 1488-1500 (Courtauld op. cit., nos 2/8/3 to 2/8/10). The more common use of limestone in Lombardy and its neighbouring regions in Northern Italy, as well as its adoption of Florentine architectural forms during the 15th century, as seen in the similarly composed portal of the Palazzo Ducale in Revere, suggest that the Bernheimer portal could originate from this part of Italy.

Despite this, the possibility that the Bernheimer portal is a highly accomplished work from the 19th century in the Renaissance style cannot be excluded. The general composition of the capitals, with ionic scrolls, acanthus leaves and an arched top edge, compares well to numerous Renaissance examples, including the Istrian stone pilaster consoles from Senigallia at the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. nos 368G to N, P, Q, R, T-1878). However the particular appearance of the helmets and the female masks at the top may be said to be inconsistent with 15th- and 16th-century styles. The same observation can be made about the two putti bearing a coat of arms on the tympanum, as well as the general style of carving.

The revival of Renaissance architecture among the European and American elite in the late 19th and early 20th centuries created a market not only for architectural fragments from the Italian Renaissance that had been removed from their original settings, but also for newly made pieces carved at a high standard on the basis of Renaissance example. As Abbot Throop’s above-mentioned publication from 1920 suggests, the form of the present portal, with fluted pilasters and a tympanum, was an influential model for architects around the turn of the 20th century. It is evident from other pieces in the collection that Lehmann Bernheimer and his sons bought high-quality 19th-century copies and pastiches as well as Renaissance originals for the Italian Courtyard at the Palais Bernheimer.

Whether it is a Renaissance original or a 19th-century work in the Renaissance style, the Bernheimer portal surround remains an elaborate and imposing interior centrepiece of a kind which only rarely comes to the present market.

RELATED LITERATURE
L. Abbot Throop, Furnishing the home of good taste: a brief sketch of the period styles in interior decoration, with suggestions as to their employment in the homes of today, New York, 1920; W. Bode, Florentine Sculptors of the Renaissance, New York, 1969; Courtauld Institute Illustration Archives. Archive 2. 15th & 16th century Sculpture in Italy. Part 8. Lombardy, London, 1978