“Is It So Nominated in the Bond?”

John Rogers, "Is It So Nominated in the Bond?", patented 1860, painted plaster, 23 x 20 ³⁄₄ x 12 ¹⁄₄ in. (58.3 x 52.6 x 31.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Rogers and Son, 1882.1.3

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Artwork Details

Title: “Is It So Nominated in the Bond?”
Artist: John Rogers
Date: patented 1860
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 23 x 20 ³⁄₄ x 12 ¹⁄₄ in. (58.3 x 52.6 x 31.0 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of John Rogers and Son
Mediums: paint
plaster
Mediums Description: painted plaster
Classifications: Sculpture
Subjects: Figure group
Performing arts — theater
Literature — Shakespeare — Merchant of Venice
Object Number: 1882.1.3
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1882.1.3

Artwork Description

“Is It So Nominated in the Bond?” is from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, and was one of John Rogers’s most popular works. In the scene, Antonio has been called to trial against the moneylender Shylock, who is demanding a pound of flesh for nonpayment of a loan. Antonio’s friend Portia is dressed as a judge trying to bargain with Shylock. Upon the suggestion that a surgeon be present when the flesh is extracted, Shylock challenges, “Is it so nominated in the bond?” to which Portia replies, “It is not so express’d; but what of that? ‘Twere good you do so much for charity.”