Dorsal taken from the choir of the Basilica of S. Ambrogio

The Dorsal (a decorative panel forming the back of a choir
stall) is a fragment made with the polychrome sculpture technique, taken from
the choir of the Basilica of S. Ambrogio, Milan. Thanks to a contract, we know that
construction of the choir of the basilica, which was one of the most important
churches in Milan, was entrusted to three Lombard sculptors (Giacomo del Maino
as head, Lorenzo da Origgio and Giacomo da Torre). The choir was erected between
1469 and 1471. From 1507 onwards it was dismantled, reassembled and tampered
with. Generally, dorsals
were carved with genre scenes or inlaid with different woods, obtaining a
colouristic effect similar to painting. The meaning of the decorations probably
refers to animals and imaginary subjects modelled on illustrations from the Tacuina Sanitatis, medical handbook in common
circulation in the late Gothic era.