THE VIRGIN
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ROMAN, FIRST HALF OF THE XIII CENTURY

THE VIRGIN'S HEAD

First half of XIII century

stone, smalt pigment

72,5 x 62,9 cm

Inv.: 2858

Fragment of a mosaic from the old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, executed as a commission from Pope Gregory IX (21:III:1227-22:VIII:1241). In connection with the building of the new cathedral its mosaics were removed and the fragment now in the Pushkin Museum appeared in the collection of Cardinal Benedetto Justiniani, who supervised the demolition of the old basilica.

Provenance: in the Justiniani collection in Rome till the mid-19th century; acquired in 1863 from the antiquarian Bonico in Rome by P.I.Sebastyanov, who donated it to the Rumyantsev Museum in Moscow; transferred to the State Historical Museum in 1924 and in the Pushkin Museum since 1932.

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