Art, in relation.
Objects that lived twice Follow five objects whose surfaces record a second life: a remounted sardonyx cup, two cancelled copper plates, a rejoined lustre tile, and a double-sided woodblock.
An authored path / 5 works
What can we learn from objects that were remounted, carved on both sides, cancelled, or broken and rejoined? These comparisons follow remember in the displayed images. Each stop keeps its own material, source and history.
Explore this description in the catalogue → ⓘ Chalice of the Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis French 12th Century (mounting); Alexandrian 2nd/1st Century B.C.(cup) · 2nd/1st century B.C. (cup); 1137-1140 (mounting) National Gallery of Art · CC0 Decorative Art / Source record
Chalice of the Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis Read the catalogue and evidence →
Maker French 12th Century (mounting); Alexandrian 2nd/1st Century B.C.(cup)
Date 2nd/1st century B.C. (cup); 1137-1140 (mounting)
Medium sardonyx cup with heavily gilded silver mounting, adorned with filigrees set with stones, pearls, glass insets, and opaque white glass pearls
Collection National Gallery of Art
Accession 1942.9.277
Credit Widener Collection. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
Rights Public domain · CC0 Public domain · CC0. Unchanged copy of the institution’s verified 1000px IIIF display image; smaller responsive JPEGs are resized derivatives. Visit the institution for other available resolutions. Editorial views may show a detail.
Institution’s full-resolution image ↗ Museum reuse policy ↗ Institutional rights designation checked 2026-10-21. Catalogue descriptions are normalized from source data; visual interpretation may be unassessed.
Original museum record ↗ Read the CC0 dedication ↗ Copy attribution
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Chalice of the Abbot Suger of Saint-Denis Distinguish the ancient carved sardonyx cup at the core from the twelfth-century filigree and gems mounted for Abbot Suger.
Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance
sardonyx cup with heavily gilded silver mounting, adorned with filigrees set with stones, pearls, glass insets, and opaque white glass pearls
ⓘ St. James's Street James McNeill Whistler · 1878 National Gallery of Art · CC0 Technical Material / Source record
St. James's Street Read the catalogue and evidence →
Maker James McNeill Whistler
Date 1878
Medium etched and cancelled copper plate
Collection National Gallery of Art
Accession 1943.3.1730
Credit Rosenwald Collection. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
Rights Public domain · CC0 Public domain · CC0. Unchanged copy of the institution’s verified 1000px IIIF display image; smaller responsive JPEGs are resized derivatives. Visit the institution for other available resolutions. Editorial views may show a detail.
Institution’s full-resolution image ↗ Museum reuse policy ↗ Institutional rights designation checked 2026-10-21. Catalogue descriptions are normalized from source data; visual interpretation may be unassessed.
Original museum record ↗ Read the CC0 dedication ↗ Copy attribution
+ Save for later 02 / National Gallery of Art / Look, then compare
St. James's Street Look at the diagonal cancellation lines ruled across Whistler’s London street scene on this copper plate in Washington.
Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance
etched and cancelled copper plate
ⓘ Cancelled Printing Plate for The Piazzetta James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) · 1879-1880 National Museum of Asian Art · CC0 Tool and Equipment / Source record
Cancelled Printing Plate for The Piazzetta Read the catalogue and evidence →
Maker James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Date 1879-1880
Medium Copper
Collection National Museum of Asian Art
Accession F1902.132
Credit Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Rights Public domain · CC0 Public domain · CC0. Unchanged copy of the institution’s verified web image; smaller responsive JPEGs are resized derivatives. Full-resolution image remains linked to the institution. Editorial views may show a detail.
Institution’s full-resolution image ↗ Museum reuse policy ↗ Institutional rights designation checked 2026-10-21. Catalogue descriptions are normalized from source data; visual interpretation may be unassessed.
Original museum record ↗ Read the CC0 dedication ↗ Copy attribution
+ Save for later 03 / National Museum of Asian Art / Look, then compare
Cancelled Printing Plate for The Piazzetta Compare a second cancelled Whistler copper plate across the Mall at the National Museum of Asian Art.
Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance
Copper
ⓘ Tile, large square. Broken corner rejoined Maker unrecorded · late 12th-early 13th century National Museum of Asian Art · CC0 Architectural Element / Source record
Tile, large square. Broken corner rejoined Read the catalogue and evidence →
Maker Maker unrecorded
Date late 12th-early 13th century
Medium Stone-paste painted underglaze
Collection National Museum of Asian Art
Accession F1908.119
Credit Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Rights Public domain · CC0 Public domain · CC0. Unchanged copy of the institution’s verified web image; smaller responsive JPEGs are resized derivatives. Full-resolution image remains linked to the institution. Editorial views may show a detail.
Institution’s full-resolution image ↗ Museum reuse policy ↗ Institutional rights designation checked 2026-10-21. Catalogue descriptions are normalized from source data; visual interpretation may be unassessed.
Original museum record ↗ Read the CC0 dedication ↗ Copy attribution
+ Save for later 04 / National Museum of Asian Art / Look, then compare
Tile, large square. Broken corner rejoined Find the diagonal break near the upper right corner where a broken fragment was rejoined to complete the square tile.
Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance
Stone-paste painted underglaze
ⓘ Two Title Pages for "Le Sourire" (Les deux titres du Sourire) [verso] Paul Gauguin · 1899 National Gallery of Art · CC0 Technical Material / Source record
Two Title Pages for "Le Sourire" (Les deux titres du Sourire) [verso] Read the catalogue and evidence →
Maker Paul Gauguin
Date 1899
Medium boxwood woodcut block
Collection National Gallery of Art
Accession 1943.3.1726.b
Credit Rosenwald Collection. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
Rights Public domain · CC0 Public domain · CC0. Unchanged copy of the institution’s verified 1000px IIIF display image; smaller responsive JPEGs are resized derivatives. Visit the institution for other available resolutions. Editorial views may show a detail.
Institution’s full-resolution image ↗ Museum reuse policy ↗ Institutional rights designation checked 2026-10-21. Catalogue descriptions are normalized from source data; visual interpretation may be unassessed.
Original museum record ↗ Read the CC0 dedication ↗ Copy attribution
+ Save for later 05 / National Gallery of Art / Look, then compare
Two Title Pages for "Le Sourire" (Les deux titres du Sourire) [verso] Read the reversed letters carved into the verso of Gauguin’s Tahitian woodblock: a block reused to print two different mastheads.
Artologium interpretation · developed with AI assistance
boxwood woodcut block
![Two Title Pages for "Le Sourire" (Les deux titres du Sourire) [verso] — Technical Material by Paul Gauguin. boxwood woodcut block.](/images/catalogue/nga-4877-two-title-pages-for-le-sourire-les-deux-titres-du-sourire-verso-3e9930357059.jpg)