Column Shaft
Unknown Artist
late 13th–early 14th century
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
H.: 62 in. (157.5 cm) Circum.: 20 3/8 in
Classification
Sculpture-Architectural
Culture
French
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cloisters Collection, 1925
Accession Number
25.120.797
Art Historical Context
This elegant marble column shaft, crafted by an unknown French artist in the late th or early 14th century, stands as a testament to the of Gothic architecture. Measuring 62 inches tall with a circumference of just over 20 inches, slender, tapering form was designed to support the soaring vaults and ribbed ceilings of grand cathedrals and monasteries. Carved from high-quality marble, a favored medium for its luminous translucency and durability, the shaft exemplifies the stonemasons' mastery in shaping stone to evoke lightness and height—hallmarks of the Gothic style that aimed to draw the eye...