Marble Agnus Dei - Florence - Quattrocento. Coat of arms of the Arte della Lana.

This Florentine marble plaque, carved in bas-relief around 1450, depicts the Agnus Dei, emblem of the Arte della Lana, the powerful wool guild of Florence. At once a religious image, a corporate coat of arms and an urban marker, it belonged to the corpus of stone insignia used to signal the presence and properties of this institution within the city, as at the prestigious Palazzo dell’Arte della Lana.

Quadrangular in format, the plaque depicts a haloed Agnus Dei turned to the left, carrying on its back a staff surmounted by a cross, from which a vexillum falls in soft folds. The animal stands on all four legs in a stable and hieratic attitude. The head, with its relatively supple modelling, is characterised by an elongated muzzle, an almond-shaped eye and a clearly defined ear, while the legs and hooves display a firmer and more naturalistic treatment. The fleece, by contrast, is highly stylised, animated by a dense succession of circular and spiral locks covering the neck, flank and hindquarters. The figure stands out against a plain background, within a slightly recessed frame bordered by a crenellated moulding. Through its decorative density, emblematic clarity and noble material, marble, this work relates to the prestigious insignia of the Arte della Lana, while retaining Trecento features that suggest a date around the middle of the 15th century, circa 1430–1450. Related works: insignia inv. 0900295574, preserved in the Museo di San Marco, and inv. 0900293903 at the Palazzo dell’Arte della Lana.
Full dossier available on request.
References consulted:
· Per filo e per segno. L’Arte della Lana a Firenze nel Cinquecento, Francesco Ammannati, Firenze, 2020
· Il centro di Firenze restituito. Affreschi e frammenti lapidei nel Museo di San Marco, Maria Sframeli dir., Firenze, 1989.
· Patrimonio fragile: pietrini e insegne di proprietà nella città di Firenze, Claudio Paolini, in Tutela & Restauro 2020. Notiziario della Soprintendenza archeologia belle arti e paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Firenze e le province di Pistoia e Prato, Firenze, 2021, p. 353-360.