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Not currently on display at the V&A

Trumpeters and Dancing Children

Relief
second quarter of the 15th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The stucco reproduces the relief of Trumpeters on the Cantoria of Luca della Robbia, executed for the Duomo in Florence in 1431-8 and now in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo (a replica is on display in the Italian cast Court in the V&A). It is considerably smaller than the marble original and appears to have been moulded from a free reduction of the marble carving.

It is made by or after Luca della Robbia in Florence in the second quarter of the 15th century.
The Della Robbia family was an Italian family of sculptors and potters. They were active in Florence from the early 15th century and elsewhere in Italy and France well into the 16th. Family members were traditionally employed in the textile industry, and their name derives from rubia tinctorum, a red dye.
Luca della Robbia founded the family sculpture workshop in Florence and was regarded by contemporaries as a leading artistic innovator, comparable to Donatello and Masaccio. The influence of antique art and his characteristic liveliness and charm are evident in such works as the marble singing-gallery for Florence Cathedral. He is credited with the invention of the tin-glazed terracotta sculpture for which the family became well known.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Relief
  • Fragment
TitleTrumpeters and Dancing Children (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Relief in stucco
Brief description
Panel, stucco, 'Trumpeters and Dancing Children', by or after Luca della Robbia, Florence, second quarter of the 15th century
Physical description
This stucco panel in relief shows to the left three youths blowing long trumpets. On the right is the head and hand of another youth. Beneath are four dancing children.
Dimensions
  • Height: 54.3cm
  • Width: 54.9cm
Object history
Purchased from the Gigli-Campana Collection, £30, for which it was acquired from the Galleria Rinuccini in Florence.
Historical context
The stucco reproduces the relief of Trumpeters on the Cantoria of Luca della Robbia, executed for the Duomo in Florence in 1431-8 and now in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo (a replica is on display in the Italian cast Court in the V&A). It is considerably smaller than the marble original and appears to have been moulded from a free reduction of the marble carving.
Subjects depicted
Summary
The stucco reproduces the relief of Trumpeters on the Cantoria of Luca della Robbia, executed for the Duomo in Florence in 1431-8 and now in the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo (a replica is on display in the Italian cast Court in the V&A). It is considerably smaller than the marble original and appears to have been moulded from a free reduction of the marble carving.

It is made by or after Luca della Robbia in Florence in the second quarter of the 15th century.
The Della Robbia family was an Italian family of sculptors and potters. They were active in Florence from the early 15th century and elsewhere in Italy and France well into the 16th. Family members were traditionally employed in the textile industry, and their name derives from rubia tinctorum, a red dye.
Luca della Robbia founded the family sculpture workshop in Florence and was regarded by contemporaries as a leading artistic innovator, comparable to Donatello and Masaccio. The influence of antique art and his characteristic liveliness and charm are evident in such works as the marble singing-gallery for Florence Cathedral. He is credited with the invention of the tin-glazed terracotta sculpture for which the family became well known.
Associated object
TN.373-2021 (Reproduction)
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861. 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. 29
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. Text. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1932, pp. 29, 30
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Volume I: Text. Eighth to Fifteenth Century. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1964, pp. 190, 120.
  • Raggio, Olga. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albertt Museum. Art Bulletin. Vol. L, 1968, p. 100
Collection
Accession number
7609:1-1861

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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