When William Macbeth, on Hawthorne's behalf, offered this painting to the Academy, he referred to the work by its present title in his accompanying letter, and it was so designated in Council minutes. In her 1947
book on Hawthorne, Elizabeth McCausland mistakenly assumed that "The Offering," the work that had received the Academy's Altman prize in the winter exhibition of 1915, was Hawthorne's subject painting
in the Academy's collection. McCausland's error may be excused, as the action of the old woman--pouring onto the ground what may be presumed to be wine from the carafe in her other hand--could well be interpreted
as the Old World custom of making an "offering" of respect and thanks to Nature by returning to earth a sampling of the wine it has yielded.
The title, a feminine nickname common to northern Italy,
and the apparent action depicted, suggest dating the painting to Hawthorne's 1906-07 stay in Italy, or, possibly to sometime shortly after his return.
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