Carved and painted walnut wood

Pavia, Musei Civici, Castello Visconteo, inv. no. D 3

The backrest comes from the wooden choir stalls of the Church of San Francesco d’Assisi in Pavia.

This backrest, together with three others in the collection of the Musei Civici of Pavia (inv. nos. D 4, D 5, D 6), was probably removed from its original location (the wooden choir mentioned above) in 1902. The four backrests were acquired by the Musei Civici of Pavia in 1978.

In the wooden choir of the church of San Francesco d’Assisi in Pavia, two representations of the pomegranate tree were present, likely reflecting the tradition of the Tacuinum sanitatis, in which one image represents sweet pomegranates (Granata dulcia) and the other sour pomegranates (Granata acetosa). At present, no iconographic evidence allows the two plants carved in the Pavia choir stalls to be distinguished, whereas in every illustrated manuscript of the Tacuinum sanitatis this distinction is possible thanks to the writings accompanying the miniatures.