Double-faced tomb slab of a 13th-century priest and of Jacopo Cavalcanti
- Author
- Florentine craftsmen
- Date
- 13th cent./1302
- Collocation
- Archaeological excavations of the ancient basilica of Santa Reparata
- Specific location
- Area to the left of the apse, vertical slab
- Original location
- Floor of the ancient basilica of Santa Reparata
- Material
- Sandstone, pigments, gold
- Technique
- Sculpture, painting, gilding
- Dimensions
- Width: 87 cm; Length: 224 cm; Thickness: 8 cm;
- Scientific catalog (only in italian)
- Lastra tombale doppia del canonico Jacopo Cavalcanti
Rectangular tombstone, composed of two fragments, in sandstone, worked at different times on both faces, one of which with traces of color and gilding. The tombstone belongs to a burial in the ancient basilica of Santa Reparata, and was found during the archaeological excavation campaign of 1965-1973.
The slab belonged to the wall tomb of an anonymous 13th century ecclesiastic (ca. 1280) and was reused, by sculpting it on the other side and re-profiling it, for the floor burial of Canon Jacopo Cavalcanti.
The oldest side is sculpted, within a deep molding, in bas-relief, the effigy of an anonymous religious man lying on a cataletto with a blue background, with his head on a cushion with traces of red and a cloth hanging on the lower side. The deceased has his hands crossed in front and his head, slightly bowed, are very worn (his head appears to show signs of a tonsure). The figure wears a cope decorated on the lower hem, on the hem of the sleeves and on the chest with golden embroidery with roundels; those on the lower edge have figures of eagles (a reference to the coat of arms of the art of Calimala which patronized the Baptistery?).
On the other side there is the tomb slab identified by the inscription in the perimeter in Gothic capital letters: it is the tomb of Jacopo Cavalcanti, canon, parish priest of San Martino, who died in 1302. Cavalcanti is depicted lying down, in religious clothes, with a sharp face and tonsure, inside an aedicule decorated with pinnacles, surmounted by two coats of arms of the family to which it belongs. The Cavalcantis were one of the most powerful families in Florence and were exiled the same year as the death of this member of the clergy.