Model Guillotine
1796-1816 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Model of a guillotine, carved from bone. The guillotine has a sliding blade operated by a piece of thread (missing) attached to a turned finial at the top of the frame. The guillotine stands on a platform with fretwork sides and four turned legs, accessible by a flight of ten steps. The 'victim' is a female figure, lying face down, whose the head is missing, but would have originally dropped into the basket beneath when the blade was operated. There is a male figure standing on a piece of bone jutting from the side of the platform which can be slid back and forth. The guillotine's platform and staircase stands on another raised platform, with fretwork sides and four turned legs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved, turned and sawn bone |
| Brief description | Bone, carved, French Prisoner of War, 1796-1816 |
| Physical description | Model of a guillotine, carved from bone. The guillotine has a sliding blade operated by a piece of thread (missing) attached to a turned finial at the top of the frame. The guillotine stands on a platform with fretwork sides and four turned legs, accessible by a flight of ten steps. The 'victim' is a female figure, lying face down, whose the head is missing, but would have originally dropped into the basket beneath when the blade was operated. There is a male figure standing on a piece of bone jutting from the side of the platform which can be slid back and forth. The guillotine's platform and staircase stands on another raised platform, with fretwork sides and four turned legs. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | '11843' (Wellcome Institute accession number.) |
| Credit line | Given by the Wellcome Collection |
| Object history | Given to the V&A in 1986 by the Wellcome Institute [82/476]. |
| Production | Said to have been made by a French prisoner of war during the Napoleonic Wars. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Associations | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | MISC.83-1986 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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