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

Apollo and Marsyas

Plaquette
1475-1500 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

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 was cast from an antique cornelian intaglio in the Medici collection. The satyr Marsyas was a skilled flute-player who was forced into a musical contest with Apollo. Apollo won the contest and ordered Marsyas to be tied to a pine tree and flayed alive.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleApollo and Marsyas (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Brief description
Plaquette, bronze, Apollo and Marsyas, Italy (Florence), ca. 1475-1500
Physical description
Plaquette depicts on the right Apollo standing with lyre and plectrum. At his feet the young Olympus kneeling for mercy. On the left Marsyas seated on a skin. Inscription.
Dimensions
  • Height: 4.2cm
  • Width: 3.6cm
Marks and inscriptions
'LAV . R . MED . '
Object history
From the Salting bequest.
Subjects depicted
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 was cast from an antique cornelian intaglio in the Medici collection. The satyr Marsyas was a skilled flute-player who was forced into a musical contest with Apollo. Apollo won the contest and ordered Marsyas to be tied to a pine tree and flayed alive.
Bibliographic references
  • 'Salting Bequest (A. 70 to A. 1029-1910) / Murray Bequest (A. 1030 to A. 1096-1910)'. In: List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum (Department of Architecture and Sculpture). London: Printed under the Authority of his Majesty's Stationery Office, by Eyre and Spottiswoode, Limited, East Harding Street, EC, p.
  • Maclagan, Eric. Catalogue of Italian Plaquettes . London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1924, p. 13
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Reliefs - Plaquettes - Statuettes - Utensils and Mortars . London: 1965, p. 73, no 246, fig 36
Collection
Accession number
A.402-1910

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Record createdMay 9, 2005
Record URL
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