Not currently on display at the V&A

The Naming of St John the Baptist

Relief
1845 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is an ivory plaque made by Richard Cockle Lucas in England in 1845. The plaque is carved in high relief, representing the naming of St. John the Baptist. This plaque is a copy by Lucas of the plaque in Solnhofen stone in the British Museum which bears the signature of Dürer, but is now established as the work of Georg Schweigger (Nürnberg, 1613-1690).

Richard Cockle Lucas (1800-1883) is mainly known as a sculptor in wax and ivory, but he also worked in glass, marble and bronze, as well as being a painter. Lucas began his career as a sculptor as an apprentice to his uncle, who worked as a cutler in Winchester, carving knife handles. He joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1828 and studied under Richard Westmacott. Lucas made two models of the Parthenon, in its original state and after the explosion of 1687, which were acquired by the British Museum. He is best known for his small scale works including wax sculptures and ivory carvings. Lucas was at the centre of a controversy about the bust of Flora in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. The bust was thought to be an authentic work by Leonardo da Vinci but the sculptor's son Albert Dürer Lucas claimed in the Burlington Magazine that the bust was modelled by his father. It is now generally thought that the bust is probably by Leonardo or his circle but was repaired by Lucas. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1829 and 1859 and showed ivory carvings and imitation bronzes at the Great Exhibition in 1851.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Naming of St John the Baptist (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved ivory
Brief description
Plaque, ivory relief, the Naming of St John the Baptist, a copy of a stone relief by George Schweigger (1613-90) based on the 1510 Dürer woodcut 'Death of the Virgin', by Richard Cockle Lucas, British, 1845
Dimensions
  • Height: 20cm
  • Width: 14cm
Credit line
Given by R. C. Lucas
Object history
In 1845 Lucas was seen in the British Museum copying the Schweigger relief. Given by Richard Cockle Lucas in 1865, through Lord Palmerston, one of 33 works by Lucas received by Richard Redgrave on behalf of the Museum on 17 June 1865.
Production
Copy of the relief by Georg Schweigger who based his relief on an engraving by Dürer.
Summary
This is an ivory plaque made by Richard Cockle Lucas in England in 1845. The plaque is carved in high relief, representing the naming of St. John the Baptist. This plaque is a copy by Lucas of the plaque in Solnhofen stone in the British Museum which bears the signature of Dürer, but is now established as the work of Georg Schweigger (Nürnberg, 1613-1690).

Richard Cockle Lucas (1800-1883) is mainly known as a sculptor in wax and ivory, but he also worked in glass, marble and bronze, as well as being a painter. Lucas began his career as a sculptor as an apprentice to his uncle, who worked as a cutler in Winchester, carving knife handles. He joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1828 and studied under Richard Westmacott. Lucas made two models of the Parthenon, in its original state and after the explosion of 1687, which were acquired by the British Museum. He is best known for his small scale works including wax sculptures and ivory carvings. Lucas was at the centre of a controversy about the bust of Flora in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. The bust was thought to be an authentic work by Leonardo da Vinci but the sculptor's son Albert Dürer Lucas claimed in the Burlington Magazine that the bust was modelled by his father. It is now generally thought that the bust is probably by Leonardo or his circle but was repaired by Lucas. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1829 and 1859 and showed ivory carvings and imitation bronzes at the Great Exhibition in 1851.
Bibliographic references
  • Theuerkauff, Christian. Von Dürer zu Lucas? Kunst und Antiquitäten, IV, 1988, pp. 70-71, fig. 6
  • Jones, M. Fake? The Art of Deception, London: British Museum Publications, 1990, cat. no. 129b, p. 124
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1865. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1, London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 33
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927, Part II, p. 124
  • Roscoe, I., with Sullivan, M.G. and Hardy, E., A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660 to 1851, New Haven, 2009, p. 766
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 166
Collection
Accession number
191-1865

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Record createdJune 17, 2004
Record URL
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