Not currently on display at the V&A

Torus moulding

Sketch Model
ca. 1850 - ca. 1851 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A cast iron example of this model is held at in the Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield. Alfred Stevens designed what was called the 'Console Stove' consisting of a grate and chimneypiece, for Messrs Henry E. Hoole & Co Ltd during 1850-1, exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851.

A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces.

Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death.
The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleTorus moulding (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Plaster with inter-laced strapwork
Brief description
Sketch model, plaster, Torus moulding, by Alfred Stevens, England, ca. 1850-1
Physical description
Raised inter-laced strapwork.
Dimensions
  • Length: 13.97cm
  • Width: 7.5cm
Object history
A cast iron example of this is held at in the Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield. Stevens designed what was called the 'Console Stove' consisting of a grate and chimneypiece, for Messrs Henry E. Hoole & Co Ltd during 1850-1, exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851.

Bought from Hugh Stannus, 64 Larkhall Rise, Clapham, London, together with range of other objects by Stevens, for £35. This model was included in a large purchase of material by Stevens in the possession of Stannus, a former pupil of Stevens who wrote a monograph on the sculptor in 1891.

Subject depicted
Summary
A cast iron example of this model is held at in the Graves Art Gallery, Sheffield. Alfred Stevens designed what was called the 'Console Stove' consisting of a grate and chimneypiece, for Messrs Henry E. Hoole & Co Ltd during 1850-1, exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851.

A sculptor, designer and painter, Alfred Stevens rejected contemporary distinctions between fine art and design. From 1850 to 1857 he was chief designer to Hoole & Co., Sheffield, where he produced award-winning designs for metalwork, majolica, terracotta ornaments and chimney-pieces.

Perhaps his two greatest works were the decorations for the dining-room at Dorchester House, London (about 1856), for which he made countless drawings inspired by the Italian High Renaissance style, in particular the work of Michelangelo and the monument to the Duke of Wellington for St Paul's Cathedral, London, which was completed after his death.
The two allegorical groups from this monument made a lasting impact on the New Sculpture movement.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Years 1903 - 1904. In: List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, During the Year 1903, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition with Appendix and Indices. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office, by Wyman and Sons, Limited, 1907, p. 166
  • Bilbey, Diane and Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470-2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002, p. 362, cat. no 537
Collection
Accession number
966-1903

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Record createdNovember 14, 2008
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