ISGM at Home
Virgin & Child Magnet
$6.00
Virgin and Child with an Angel1470-1474
Sandro Botticelli (Florence, 1444 or 1445 - 1510, Florence)
Tempera on panel, 85 x 64.5 cm (33 7/16 x 25 3/8 in.) panel
A vast number of paintings of the Virgin and Child were produced in Florence in the late 1400s to meet a new demand for devotional images on a domestic scale. Early in his career, Botticelli specialized in such works. While this painting possesses much of the calm prettiness expected from these Madonnas, it also contains unexpected elements of allegory. The angel, Virgin, and Christ Child all look down at a bowl of grapes studded with ears of grain. Grapes and wheat produce the wine and bread of the Eucharist, and allude to the blood and body of Christ’s sacrifice. The Virgin carefully selects some of the wheat, to signify that she accepts her child’s fate. The angled arcade adds further mystery: like a set of isolated doorways, the structure encloses the figures while it simultaneously frames the landscape beyond.
In 1899, Isabella Stewart Gardner discovered that the Prince Chigi in Rome was willing to sell his painting by Botticelli, so she cabled Bernard Berenson to ask if it was worth $30,000. He replied emphatically that it was not, but she was not discouraged. A few months later, the price had risen to $70,000 and Berenson was recommending its purchase! The acquisition stirred great controversy because the press believed that the painting had been illegally exported from Italy; the Prince Chigi was fined, but later cleared of impropriety. Popular interest on both sides of the Atlantic became so great that it was decided to exhibit the painting in London at Colnaghi before it was shipped to Boston.
4 x 3 inches
Made in the USA
Nasturtium Seed Packet
$10.00
With our nasturtium seed packet, anyone can grow the very same variety of flowers that are cultivated during our annual tradition of hanging colorful displays of nasturtium vines. Contained in this packet are 30 nasturtium seeds, hand packed in the Museum. Each packet contains instructions for these easy-to-grow seeds.
Season: Annuals
USDA Zones: 3 - 10
Vining height measures 60"
Bloom season: Mid-summer through fall
Environment: Full Sun
Deer Resistant: Yes
Guy Wolff Planter 10lbs
$90.00
"Tradition is not a form to be imitated but the discipline that gives integrity to the new." - Robert Jay Wolff, Abstract Expressionist and father of the artist, 1949
These terra cotta pots designed specifically for the Gardner Museum showcase the many talents of the renowned American potter and terra cotta historian, Guy Wolff. The pots in this collection feature designs inspired by the Gardner's unique combination of art and horticulture. For example, Wolff's working pot design features side handles, a detail Mrs. Gardner introduced specifically for her potted trees in the Courtyard. Each pot here is adorned with a custom stamp derived from Isabella's personal bookplate. Guy Wolff was inspired by the collection here, and his attention to detail and reverence for his materials truly make his pots a special addition to our store.
Each pot is handmade and will have some variance.
Guy Wolff Planters are available for pickup only and may not be returned.
9.5 inches largest diameter9.5 inches depth
Terracotta with drainage hole
Made in Connecticut, USA
Guy Wolff Planter 24lbs
$275.00
"Tradition is not a form to be imitated but the discipline that gives integrity to the new." - Robert Jay Wolff, Abstract Expressionist and father of the artist, 1949
These terra cotta pots designed specifically for the Gardner Museum showcase the many talents of the renowned American potter and terra cotta historian, Guy Wolff. The pots in this collection feature designs inspired by the Gardner's unique combination of art and horticulture. For example, Wolff's working pot design features side handles, a detail Mrs. Gardner introduced specifically for her potted trees in the Courtyard. Each pot here is adorned with a custom stamp derived from Isabella's personal bookplate. Guy Wolff was inspired by the collection here, and his attention to detail and reverence for his materials truly make his pots a special addition to our store.
Each pot is handmade and will have some variance.
Guy Wolff Planters are available for pickup only and may not be returned.
13 inches largest diameter11 inches depth
Terracotta with drainage hole
Made in Connecticut, USA
Guy Wolff Planter 36lbs
$400.00
"Tradition is not a form to be imitated but the discipline that gives integrity to the new." - Robert Jay Wolff, Abstract Expressionist and father of the artist, 1949
These terra cotta pots designed specifically for the Gardner Museum showcase the many talents of the renowned American potter and terra cotta historian, Guy Wolff. The pots in this collection feature designs inspired by the Gardner's unique combination of art and horticulture. For example, Wolff's working pot design features side handles, a detail Mrs. Gardner introduced specifically for her potted trees in the Courtyard. Each pot here is adorned with a custom stamp derived from Isabella's personal bookplate. Guy Wolff was inspired by the collection here, and his attention to detail and reverence for his materials truly make his pots a special addition to our store.
Each pot is handmade and will have some variance.
Guy Wolff Planters are available for pickup only and may not be returned.
14 inches largest diameter13 inches depth
Terracotta with drainage hole
Made in Connecticut, USA
Gardner Museum Smart Vase Cube
$16.00
This is a small vase for a flower or other small plants. The cube is made from natural wood, and fits with the small vase. A magnet is embedded in the wood cube, so you can put it on any metallic surface, like a fridge door.
A small piece of nature in this small vase will brighten up any space. It can also function perfectly as a diffuser by putting aroma oil and sticks inside the clear tube.
7 inches tall
Glass vase with magnetic wood block
Gardner Crest Smart Vase Cube
$16.00
This is a small vase for a flower or other small plants. The cube is made from natural wood, and fits with the small vase. A magnet is embedded in the wood cube, so you can put it on any metallic surface, like a fridge door.
A small piece of nature in this small vase will brighten up any space. It can also function perfectly as a diffuser by putting aroma oil and sticks inside the clear tube.
The creative bud vases are etched with the corporate seal of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, designed by Gardner’s friend, prominent Boston artist Sarah de St. Prix Wyman Whitman (1842-1904) in 1900. The motto of the Museum’s seal, ‘C’est mon plaisir’ – ‘It’s my pleasure’ – is stamped on these crowd-favorite vases.
Glass vase with magnetic wood block
Isabella Quote Mug: "My Garden is Riotous"
$15.00
“My garden is riotous, unholy, deliriously glorious!
I wish you were here.” - Isabella Stewart Gardner in a letter to Bernard Berenson dated June 24, 1898
When Isabella Stewart Gardner agreed to sponsor the career of an aspiring young writer named Bernard Berenson, neither dreamed that together they would build one of the country’s most impressive private collections of fine art. Berenson--or B.B., as he signed off on his letters--became Mrs. Gardner’s chief art adviser and her dear friend, as well as America’s leading expert on Italian Renaissance painting.
In her missive to Berenson, Mrs. Gardner referenced the flora growing at the Gardner’s Brookline estate Green Hill, which Jack Gardner inherited from his father in 1884. Here, Mrs. Gardner continued to cultivate her lifelong love of horticulture. The spirit of Mrs. Gardner’s passion for plants blooms perennially in the Courtyard and throughout her Museum.
11 oz. ceramic mug
Dishwasher and microwave safe
Full Medusa Mosaic Trivet
$47.00
In 1892, an ancient villa was discovered just north of Rome, near the villa of Augustus’s wife, Livia. Several well-preserved mosaic floors adorned the baths of the villa. Jack and Isabella Gardner inspected the mosaics in 1895 and purchased this floor in 1897. The delicate tracery of this mosaic resembles those made in Pompeii around 25 AD (the late second or third style), but brick stamps indicate that it was laid a century later, during the reign of Emperor Hadrian.
Inspired by a work that now lies in the very heart of the Museum, this trivet featuring the full Courtyard Mosaic is sure to be a touchstone for your experience at the Gardner.
Trivet edges are weathered as part of the design.
Crafted from Italian marble and heat-resistant cork backing
8 x 8 inches
Made in the USA
© 2023 Gift at the Gardner.
