  
  About the Artwork
  
  
  The capital dates from a time of great revival in monumental stone sculpture in medieval Europe, known as the Romanesque period. The church of Saint-Constant in western France was built during the first quarter of the twelfth century and destroyed in 1921. This capital with crossed lions moving in opposite directions was one of a pair surmounting columns toward the back of the small aisleless church. Romanesque churches were frequently boldly decorated with carvings of lions and fantastic animals such as harpies and griffins. The collection in Detroit also includes four smaller capitals from Saint-Constant that originally surmounted colonettes inside the church.
  
  
  Title
  Capital and Abacus Block
  
  
  Artwork Date
  12th century
  
  Artist
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  Life Dates
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  Nationality
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events.
  Some definitions include:
  Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation.
  
  
  
  French
  
  
  
  Culture
  
  
  
  Please note:
  Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group.
  
  
  
  
  ----------
  
  
  Medium
  Stone
  
  
  Dimensions
  Overall (capital): 17 1/4 &Atilde;&#151; 20 inches (43.8 &Atilde;&#151; 50.8 cm)
  Overall (abacus): 6 1/4 &Atilde;&#151; 25 1/2 inches (15.9 &Atilde;&#151; 64.8 cm)
  
  
  Classification
  Sculpture
  
  
  Department
  European Sculpture and Dec Arts
  
  
  Credit
  Founders Society Purchase, Edward A. Sumner Bequest Fund
  
  
  
  Accession Number
  
  
  
  This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection.
  Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum&acirc;&#128;&#153;s holdings.
  For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems&acirc;&#128;&#148;no longer assigned&acirc;&#128;&#148;that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups.
  
  
  
  49.416
  
  
  Copyright
  Public Domain
  
  
  
