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On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Sculpture

1840-1860 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
The composition, probably based on figures made for a fountain, is known in a number of variants and was evidently popular as a garden decoration.

Time
The motif of children playing with a goose is of classical origin. The group relates stylistically to figures produced around 1545 by Niccolò Tribolo and Pierino da Vinci, who were both specialists at modelling children. However, it was made by a reproductive technique, and tests indicated that the sculpture was fired less than 150 years ago, probably not long before it was acquired and sketched by Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898). This type of image has clearly appealed to different western cultures over an extensive period.

Materials & Making
The group was made from moulded clay, which was then fired to form the more permanent terracotta. This method of production allows replicas to be made quickly and comparatively easily. Expansion of air or water during firing can cause breakage, so the clay group was first left to dry as much as possible. The even thickness of the wall of this hollow sculpture also helped to regulate water loss, further reducing the risk of breakage. Cast-lines were removed and details sharpened in the 'leather-hard' clay before firing.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Cast terracotta
Brief description
Boy and Girl with Goose
Physical description
Two naked figures of a boy and a girl are posed frontally standing side by side against a tree stump. A goose is supported on the girl's back.
Dimensions
  • Height: 70cm
  • Width: 35cm
  • Depth: 23cm
Dimensions checked: Measured; 13/05/1999 by LH
Gallery label
(27/03/2003)
British Galleries:
AN ARTIST'S SKETCHES IN THE MUSEUM

From about 1860 the Museum was actively collecting and displaying European Medieval and Renaissance decorative arts and sculpture. This small figure group was bought in 1863 for the South Kensington Museum and thought at the time to have been made in about 1550. In the 1860s the artist Edward Burne-Jones studied works of art in museum collections to improve his drawing skills. This is his sketch of the terracotta group, made on one of his visits to the Museum.
Object history
Possibly based on figures by Niccolo Tribolo (probably born in Florence, Italy, 1500, probably died there in 1550) and Pierino da Vinci (born in Vinci, Italy, about 1529, died in Pisa, Italy, 1553)
Probably made in Florence, Italy.
Historical context
The group is known in a number of variants and was evidently popular as garden decoration. The motif of children playing with a goose is of classical origin.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
The composition, probably based on figures made for a fountain, is known in a number of variants and was evidently popular as a garden decoration.

Time
The motif of children playing with a goose is of classical origin. The group relates stylistically to figures produced around 1545 by Niccolò Tribolo and Pierino da Vinci, who were both specialists at modelling children. However, it was made by a reproductive technique, and tests indicated that the sculpture was fired less than 150 years ago, probably not long before it was acquired and sketched by Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898). This type of image has clearly appealed to different western cultures over an extensive period.

Materials & Making
The group was made from moulded clay, which was then fired to form the more permanent terracotta. This method of production allows replicas to be made quickly and comparatively easily. Expansion of air or water during firing can cause breakage, so the clay group was first left to dry as much as possible. The even thickness of the wall of this hollow sculpture also helped to regulate water loss, further reducing the risk of breakage. Cast-lines were removed and details sharpened in the 'leather-hard' clay before firing.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1863 In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 35
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, pp. 142, 143
  • Raggio, Olga. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Art Bulletin. Vol. L, 1968, p. 103
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume II: Text. Sixteenth to Twentieth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, pp. 437, 38
  • Holderbaum, James. 'Recuperi moderni di sculture di Pierino da Vinci, e l'identificazione di un ritratto del Branzino che raffigura Pierino con la sua statua di Bacco', in: Cianchi, Marco (ed), Pierino da Vinci: atti della giornata di studi. Florence, 1995, pp. 17-23, fig. 25.
  • Lambert, Susan (ed.) Pattern and design : designs for the decorative arts, 1480-1980, London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983 4, 2b
Collection
Accession number
8527-1863

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
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