Entombment thumbnail 1
Entombment thumbnail 2
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

Entombment

Plaquette
after 1516 (made)
Artist/Maker
Briosco, Andrea Il Riccio (sculptor)
Place of origin
Padua (made)

Plaquettes are small plaques made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in the 1440s with the desire to reproduce coins and hardstone engravings from ancient Greece and Rome. Some were made as collector’s pieces, to be viewed and displayed in private, and others for practical purposes. They also inspired designs in other media, from architecture to bookbindings. This composition exists in a number of examples. It bears close resemblance to the monumental bronze candlestick Riccio made for the Basilica of St Anthony, Padua, from which he developed many of his small bronzes.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Christianity
Coins & Medals
Religion
Object type
Plaquette
TitleEntombment (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze in low relief
Bronze
Low Relief
Brief description
Plaquette, 'Entombment', bronze, by Andrea Riccio (Andrea Briosco), Italy, Padua, after 1516
Physical description
Bronze plaquette depicting The Entombment. The body of the dead Christ is being lowered into the tomb by St. John and two bearded men. To the right is the Virgin supported by a woman, to the left a seated mourner and an old woman holding a vase. In the background are mourners who raise their arms in lamentation.
Dimensions
  • Height: 117mm
  • Width: 165mm
Marks and inscriptions
'QVEM TOTVS NON CAPit ORBis IN HAC TVMBA CLAVDITur' (On the depicted tomb;)
Subjects depicted
Jesus Christ
Mary (Virgin Mary)
John (Saint John the Evangelist)
The Entombment
Summary
Plaquettes are small plaques made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in the 1440s with the desire to reproduce coins and hardstone engravings from ancient Greece and Rome. Some were made as collector’s pieces, to be viewed and displayed in private, and others for practical purposes. They also inspired designs in other media, from architecture to bookbindings. This composition exists in a number of examples. It bears close resemblance to the monumental bronze candlestick Riccio made for the Basilica of St Anthony, Padua, from which he developed many of his small bronzes.
Bibliographic references
  • Motture, Peta, ed., Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance, London: V&A Publishing, 2023. pp. 224-225, cat. 5.5B, entry by Jeremy Warren
  • Pope-Hennessy, John Wyndham, Sir: Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H Kress Collection, London, 1965, No. 207, fig. 101
  • Maclagan, Eric. Catalogue of Italian Plaquettes . London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1924, p.22
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1860. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 32
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
6979-1860

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Record createdAugust 31, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O102990/entombment-plaquette-briosco-andrea-il/
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