Column Shaft
Unknown Artist
ca. 1130–1140
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
Overall: 35 1/2 x 8 1/8 in. (90.2 x 20.6 cm)
Classification
Sculpture-Architectural
Culture
Catalan
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cloisters Collection, 1925
Accession Number
25.120.579
Art Historical Context
This elegant marble column shaft, dating to around 1130–1140, hails from Catalonia in northeastern Spain and exemplifies the refined architectural sculpture of the Romanesque period. Carved from high-quality marble it measures 35½ by 8⅛ inches, designed to support arches or form part of a cloister or church interior. Its smooth, cylindrical form reflects the stonemasons' skill in quarrying and polishing stone to create durable, luminous elements that caught the light in medieval sanctuaries. In the context of 12th-century Catalonia, such shafts were integral to the region's vibrant Romanesque...