Not currently on display at the V&A

Christ carrying the cross

Relief
first half of 17th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a relief made in the first half of the 17th century Italy. This relief, in enamelled terracotta and in the style of the della Robbia, represents Christ and the daughters of Jerusalem. A drawing for this relief in the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, Rome, is by Ciro Ferri, to whom the design must be ascribed. It is also established that this relief formed part of the same series of Passion scenes as three similar reliefs of the Raising of the Cross, the Lamentation and the Entombment in Santi Quirico e Lucia at Ambrogiana (Montelupo). A letter of May, 1685, addressed by Bassetti, secretary of the Grand-Duke Cosimo III, to the Abate Mancini shows that the reliefs of the Stations of the cross at Montelupo were executed in Rome by the stipendiaries of the Grand-Duke and glazed in Florence. The names of the stipendiati for the year 1685 were Piamontini, Ciamminghi, Andreozzi and Cateni, one of whom was presumably responsible for the modelling of this relief.


Object details
Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Enamelled terracotta
Brief description
Relief, enamelled terracotta, Christ carrying the cross, after Ciro Ferri, Italian, first half of 17th century
Physical description
Relief of Christ carrying the cross.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 41.91cm
Object history
Purchased in London in 1877, from Mrs. Hugo.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a relief made in the first half of the 17th century Italy. This relief, in enamelled terracotta and in the style of the della Robbia, represents Christ and the daughters of Jerusalem. A drawing for this relief in the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe, Rome, is by Ciro Ferri, to whom the design must be ascribed. It is also established that this relief formed part of the same series of Passion scenes as three similar reliefs of the Raising of the Cross, the Lamentation and the Entombment in Santi Quirico e Lucia at Ambrogiana (Montelupo). A letter of May, 1685, addressed by Bassetti, secretary of the Grand-Duke Cosimo III, to the Abate Mancini shows that the reliefs of the Stations of the cross at Montelupo were executed in Rome by the stipendiaries of the Grand-Duke and glazed in Florence. The names of the stipendiati for the year 1685 were Piamontini, Ciamminghi, Andreozzi and Cateni, one of whom was presumably responsible for the modelling of this relief.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1877, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., p. 63
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: HMSO, 1964, cat. no. 632, fig. 603
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. London, 1932, p. 83
  • Visona, Mara. La Via Crucis del Convento di San Pietro d'Alcántara presso la Villa l'Ambrogiana a Montelupo Fiorentino. In: Kunst des Barock in der Toskana : Studien zur Kunst unter den letzten Medici. Munich, 1976, pp. 57-69
  • Il conoscitore d'arte. Milano, 1989. p. 38. no. 12. Catalogue of exhibition held Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milano, 1989
Collection
Accession number
748-1877

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Record createdSeptember 26, 2008
Record URL
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