Other Restorations
Church of San Samuele | Church of San Lio | Monumental Arch | Cornaro Chapel | Saint Mark Healing the Cobbler Anianus | Four Wooden Poles | Façade of Scuola Dalmata | Sarcophagus of Giovanni Priuli | Marco Polo Arch | Tombstones, New Jewish Cemetery, Lido |   Bernabò Chapel and Relief of the Coronation of the Virgin | Photographs of Venetian Architecture and Sculpture  |  19th-Century Glass-Plate Negatives of Venice from the Ferdinando Ongania Collection  |  St. Martin and the Beggar  | Madonna with Child and St. Peter |  Crucifix

Four Wooden Poles with Mother-of-pearl inserts for Processional Canopies

Artist:Venetian School, late 17th century
Location:Scuola Grande di S. Giovanni Evangelista
Media:Wood, mother-of-pearl, and copper
Proposed treatment:Cleaning and restoration
Sponsored by:Friends & Family of Janet & Marvin Rosen in honor of their 35th wedding anniversary

These four wooden poles (each measuring 280cm) were carried by various members of the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista during their many processions throughout the city. They were used specifically to support a protective canopy for such precious relics as a fragment of the True Cross, which had been donated to the confraternity in 1369 by Philip de Meizères of Cyprus.

These lavish occasions were memorably recorded in a cycle of canvases from the 1490s by Gentile Bellini, Carpaccio and others. Originally painted for the Scuola, they now hang in the Accademia Galleries.

The striking spiral form of the poles, which are decorated with inlaid mother-of-pearl flowers with copper stems, was created by the typical late-Baroque technique of turning the wood on a lathe.

Although the set of four is intact, it suffered considerable damage from wood-eating insects and oxidation of metal attachments. Thick layers of dust had also dulled the brilliance of the mother-of-pearl.

Restoration included cleaning, fumigation, consolidation of damaged parts, and the application of a protective finish. Although the canopy itself has been lost, the poles will be put on permanent public display.