The Three Graces with Cupid thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

The Three Graces with Cupid

Medalliion
ca. 1840 - ca. 1865 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is an ivory medallion plaque made by Richard Cockle Lucas in ca. 1840-65 in Britain. The plaque is carved in high relief and represents the three Graces with Cupid. The Graces remain entwined but with a dancing Cupid, who becomes the focus of the group's attention. The figure on the left is based on antique sculptures of the Crouching Venus.

Richard Cockle Lucas (1800-1883) is mainly known as a sculptor in wax and ivory, but he also worked in glass, marble and bronze, as well as being a painter. Lucas began his career as a sculptor as an apprentice to his uncle, who worked as a cutler in Winchester, carving knife handles. He joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1828 and studied under Richard Westmacott. Lucas made two models of the Parthenon, in its original state and after the explosion of 1687, which were acquired by the British Museum. He is best known for his small scale works including wax sculptures and ivory carvings. Lucas was at the centre of a controversy about the bust of Flora in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. The bust was thought to be an authentic work by Leonardo da Vinci but the sculptor's son Albert Dürer Lucas claimed in the Burlington Magazine that the bust was modelled by his father. It is now generally thought that the bust is probably by Leonardo or his circle but was repaired by Lucas. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1829 and 1859 and showed ivory carvings and imitation bronzes at the Great Exhibition in 1851.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Three Graces with Cupid (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Ivory
Brief description
Medallion plaque, ivory, the three Graces with Cupid, by Richard Cockle Lucas, Britain, ca. 1840-65
Physical description
Oval ivory medallion plaque carved in high relief depicting the three Graces with Cupid. The Grace on the left is keeling.
Dimensions
  • Height: 7cm
  • Width: 4.81cm
Object history
Given by Richard Cockle Lucas in 1865, through Lord Palmerston, one of 33 works by Lucas received by Richard Redgrave on behalf of the Museum on 17 June 1865.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is an ivory medallion plaque made by Richard Cockle Lucas in ca. 1840-65 in Britain. The plaque is carved in high relief and represents the three Graces with Cupid. The Graces remain entwined but with a dancing Cupid, who becomes the focus of the group's attention. The figure on the left is based on antique sculptures of the Crouching Venus.

Richard Cockle Lucas (1800-1883) is mainly known as a sculptor in wax and ivory, but he also worked in glass, marble and bronze, as well as being a painter. Lucas began his career as a sculptor as an apprentice to his uncle, who worked as a cutler in Winchester, carving knife handles. He joined the Royal Academy Schools in 1828 and studied under Richard Westmacott. Lucas made two models of the Parthenon, in its original state and after the explosion of 1687, which were acquired by the British Museum. He is best known for his small scale works including wax sculptures and ivory carvings. Lucas was at the centre of a controversy about the bust of Flora in the Kaiser Friedrich Museum in Berlin. The bust was thought to be an authentic work by Leonardo da Vinci but the sculptor's son Albert Dürer Lucas claimed in the Burlington Magazine that the bust was modelled by his father. It is now generally thought that the bust is probably by Leonardo or his circle but was repaired by Lucas. He exhibited at the Royal Academy between 1829 and 1859 and showed ivory carvings and imitation bronzes at the Great Exhibition in 1851.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1865. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 32
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927-1929, Part II, p. 119
  • Roscoe, I., with Sullivan, M.G. and Hardy, E., A Biographical Dictionary of Sculptors in Britain, 1660 to 1851, New Haven, 2009, p. 766
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 177
Collection
Accession number
197-1865

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Record createdApril 8, 2008
Record URL
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