FRENCH, EARLY 16TH CENTURY

This fragment was almost certainly part of the splendid decorations of the château de Bonnivet, near Poitiers. It was built between 1516 and 1525 for Guillaume II Gouffier, who was a confident of François I's, a tutor of the Dauphin and Dauphine and an important diplomat and military leader. The enormous building was famous for its richly carved decorations and was one of the best examples of the first stage of French Renaissance architecture -- referred to as the missing link between the iconic châteaux of Blois and Chambord. The corps de logis principal, with its famous escalier d'honneur was decorated with elaborate carved panels of rinceaux and grotesques -- nearly identical to the Cleveland panel -- and so reminiscent of contemporary Italian carved and painted decoration. This was perhaps the only fully finished part of the château upon Gouffier's death in 1525, when all construction ceased.

The château was destroyed after 1789 and turned into a quarry for its stones. The majority of the preserved elements are today in the museums of Poitiers. The Cleveland panel, numbered, like many of the fragments, is yet another piece to this fascinating architectural puzzle.