Plaque thumbnail 1
Plaque thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Plaque

1834 (made)
Artist/Maker
Wekler, Georgi Ferdinand (maker)
Place of origin
St Petersburg (made)

This mosiac, believed to be based on a painting of a cockerel by the Dutch artist Paul Potter (1625-1654) in the collection of Alexander I (r. 1801-1825), was highly praised for its richness of colour and technical merit when it was made.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.


Object details

Category
Plaques & Plaquettes
Object type
Plaque
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Plaque
  • Frame
  • Case
Materials and techniques
Micromosaic in metal frame, case of leather lined with silk.
Metal
Mosaic Glass
Leather
Silk
Micromosaic
Brief description
Mosaic plaque of a cockerel, St Petersburg, Georgi Ferdinand Wekler, 1834.
Physical description
A small rectangular micromosaic plaque depicting a colourful cockerel on a grassy patch with flowering foliage, a spoon and two bowls. The cockerel is in right profile with its head turned to the left and with one foot raised.
Dimensions
  • Length: 8.6cm
  • Width: 6.9cm
Measurements checked by Issy Warnham 14/12/23
Gallery label
  • 9. Cockerel mosaic and case, 1834 Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.221:1 to 3-2008(16/11/2016)
  • Cockerel plaque and case 1834 This astonishing mosaic of a cockerel received great acclaim from members of the Russian imperial family and aristocracy. The composition is based on a painting by the Dutch animal painter Paul Potter (1625–54), which Tsar Alexander I acquired in 1815. St Petersburg, Russia; mosaic by Georgi Ferdinand Wekler (1800–61) Glass micromosaic and leather case lined with silk Museum no. Loan:Gilbert.221:1 to 3-2008(2009)
Credit line
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Object history
Provenance: Graus Antiques, London, 1977.
Production
Believed to be based on a painting by Paul Potter (1625-1654)
Subjects depicted
Cockerel
Foliage
Spoon
Bowls (Vessels)
Summary
This mosiac, believed to be based on a painting of a cockerel by the Dutch artist Paul Potter (1625-1654) in the collection of Alexander I (r. 1801-1825), was highly praised for its richness of colour and technical merit when it was made.

Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Bibliographic references
  • Gonzalez-Palacios, Alvar and Steffi Röttgen with essays by Steffi Röttgen, Claudia Przyborowski; essays and new catalogue material translated by Alla Theodora Hall. The Art of Mosaics: Selections from the Gilbert Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1982. 224 p., ill. Cat. no. 92. Gabriel, Jeanette Hanisee with contributions by Anna Maria Massinelli and essays by Judy Rudoe and Massimo Alfieri. <u>Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection</u>. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000. 310 p., ill. Cat. no. 40, p. 96. ISBN 0856675113.
  • Fields, Mary Durland. 'The Phantom Art of Micromosaics', Miniature Collector, October 1983, no. 39, ill. p. 47.
  • Künstler-Lexikon, 1913, p. 16.
  • Gabriel, Jeanette Hanisee with contributions by Anna Maria Massinelli and essays by Judy Rudoe and Massimo Alfieri. Micromosaics: The Gilbert Collection. London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. in association with The Gilbert Collection, 2000. 310 p., ill. Cat. no. 40, p. 96. ISBN 0856675113.
Other numbers
  • MM 260 - Arthur Gilbert Number
  • MM 2 - Arthur Gilbert Number
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
LOAN:GILBERT.221:1 to 3-2008

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Record createdJune 26, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O157771/plaque-wekler-georgi-ferdinand/
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