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

Five putti at play

Plaquette
1450-1500 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Florence (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 frequently encountered plaquette has bevelled edges which suggests that it was perhaps part of a casket or sandbox. It may have been associated with a papal gift as the original terracotta matrix was found during the 1876 excavations of the Palazzo Venezia in Rome, the palace of Pope Paul II.


Object details

Category
Sculpture
Object type
Plaquette
TitleFive putti at play (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Bronze
Brief description
Plaquette, bronze, Italy (possibly Florence), 1450-1500
Physical description
Plaque, bronze, oblong. Putti at play. To the left a cupid is supporting another who has fallen back frightened by a bearded mask worn by a cupid. To the right are two other cupids, one holding a vase in both hands, and the other is playing a flute. Moulded border.
Object history
Bought for £3.
Subjects depicted
Putti
Mask
Vase
Flutes (Aerophones)
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 frequently encountered plaquette has bevelled edges which suggests that it was perhaps part of a casket or sandbox. It may have been associated with a papal gift as the original terracotta matrix was found during the 1876 excavations of the Palazzo Venezia in Rome, the palace of Pope Paul II.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division South Kensington Museum acquired during the Year 1891. Arranged according to the dates of acquisition, with appendix and indices. London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1892. pp. 16
  • Avery, Charles. Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes in the Frick Art Museum. Pittsburgh: 1993. pp. 53-56. cat. no. 8b
  • Martini, Luciana. Piccoli bronzi e placchette del Museo Nazionale di Ravenna. Bologna: University Press. 1985. pp. 143-4. no. 25/6
  • Trusted, Marjorie ed. The Making of Sculpture. The materials and techniques of European sculpture. London: 2007. pp. 82, pl. 129
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
81-1891

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Record createdMay 10, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O111897/five-putti-at-play-plaquette-unknown/
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