Not currently on display at the V&A

Entablature

1884 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This carving in walnut is a copy of the upper section of a chimney piece in the Palazzo Ducale in Venice made in about 1490. In the Renaissance, interior furnishings often used a lavish mix of classical decoration, as here in this double frieze employing acanthus, palmette, cornucopias and cherub or angel heads in roundels. The copy was made by Giuseppe Biraghi of Venice in 1884 and may have been commissioned by the Museum to provide a first class example of Renaissance carving composition for artists, designers and manufacturers to use as a model.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Chimneypiece
  • Chimneypiece
  • Fragment
Materials and techniques
Carved walnut
Brief description
Part of entablature, walnut double frieze carved by Giuseppe Biraghi of Venice, copied from a chimneypiece of about 1490 in the Palazzo Ducale, Italy, 1884
Physical description
Part of entablature, carved walnut double frieze employing acanthus, palmette, cornucopias and cherub or angel heads in roundels. Consists of a baluster-shaped pillar decorated with festoons and ribbons the upper part spirally twisted, supporting a bracket on which rests a rectangle panel with projecting cornice, both ornamented with foliage, fruits, masks, birds and various mouldings.
Dimensions
  • Height: 74cm
  • Width: 87.5cm
  • Depth: 32cm
  • Weight: 30kg
Object history
In the Renaissance, interior furnishings often used the richest possible classical decoration, as here in this double frieze employing acanthus, palmette, cornucopias and cherub or angel heads in roundels. Walnut, carved by Giusseppe Biraghi of Venice, copied from a chimneypiece of about 1490 in the Palazzo Ducale.
Production
Copied from a chimneypiece of about 1490 in the Palazzo Ducale, Venice.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This carving in walnut is a copy of the upper section of a chimney piece in the Palazzo Ducale in Venice made in about 1490. In the Renaissance, interior furnishings often used a lavish mix of classical decoration, as here in this double frieze employing acanthus, palmette, cornucopias and cherub or angel heads in roundels. The copy was made by Giuseppe Biraghi of Venice in 1884 and may have been commissioned by the Museum to provide a first class example of Renaissance carving composition for artists, designers and manufacturers to use as a model.
Collection
Accession number
1115-1884

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Record createdJune 29, 2005
Record URL
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