Late 16th - early 17th century

Panel with Figure of Temperance, possibly from a cabinet

Artist/maker unknown

This delicately carved relief was likely made as a door or decorative panel for a large piece of furniture of a type that was fashionable for the well-to-do in France around 1600. The central figure is an allegory of Temperance, one of the four cardinal virtues of classical philosophy and Christian theology. She holds up a cup into which she has poured a (presumably) moderate and correct measure from the jug in her other hand. The same figure appears on a number of contemporary pieces of furniture and on pewter platters made by François Briot (French, c. 1550–c. 1616), but the original source of the design is unknown.