The Lamentation thumbnail 1
The Lamentation thumbnail 2
+11
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Europe 1600-1815, Room 7, The Sheikha Amna Bint Mohammed Al Thani Gallery

This object consists of 4 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

The Lamentation

Statuette
ca. 1650 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This figure group of ivory and partly gilded walnut is made by an unknown artist, perhaps in Italy in ca. 1650. Christ lies dead on his shroud. The mourning Virgin stands to the right, near his feet, and an angel stands on the other side, at his head. Above, mourning cherubim and angels hover in the clouds. The ivory figures are set in a fictile rocky setting made of walnut, with gilding representing foliage and two tree stumps. The door to the tomb is seen at the back.

The combination of wood and ivory seen here would have been specifically Italian if this piece dates from the seventeenth, rather than the eighteenth century; comparable works are in the Museo degli Argenti in Florence. Its supposed original Italian provenance, and the style of the Italianate figure of Christ, recalling the work of Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654), do suggest this piece might indeed be Italian, made in the mid-seventeenth century. It is a devotional item, and at the same time a highly-wrought precious work of art.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 4 parts.
(Some alternative part names are also shown below)
  • Statuettes
  • Figure Group
  • Fragment
  • Fragment
  • Cross
TitleThe Lamentation (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved ivory and walnut, partly gilded.
Brief description
Figure group, ivory and partly gilded walnut, The Lamentation of Christ, perhaps Italian, ca. 1650
Physical description
Christ lies dead on his shroud. The mourning Virgin stands to the right, near his feet, and an angel stands on the other side, at his head, holding the vernicle. Above, mourning cherubim and angels hover in the clouds. The ivory figures are set in a fictile rocky setting made of walnut, with gilding representing foliage and two tree stumps. The door to the tomb is seen at the back.
Dimensions
  • Height: 83cm
  • Width: 75cm
  • Depth: 42cm
  • Height: 798mm (Note: Measured for 1600-1800 by techs)
  • Width: 730mm (Note: Measured for 1600-1800 by techs)
  • Depth: 408mm (Note: Measured for 1600-1800 by techs)
Gallery label
  • The Virgin Mary Laments the Death of Christ About 1650 In this elaborate sculpture, the figure of Christ lies on a shroud at the opening to his tomb, while his mother weeps, her hands clasped in grief. The angel holding up a cloth is a reference to the legend of St Veronica. The saint is said to have wiped Christ’s face as he carried the cross, and an imprint of his features remained on the cloth. Probably Italy Partially gilded walnut, with ivory Purchased with funds from the Captain H.B. Murray Bequest(09.12.2015)
  • THE LAMENTATION South Netherlandish; circa 1650 Ivory and Walnut (1993 - 2011)
Credit line
Bought under the bequest of Captain H.B. Murray.
Object history
Said to be from the Casa dei Principi Rospigliosi, Rome. Paul von Liebermann Collection, Berlin, 1905; Paul Ludwig Stilten Collection, Berlin by 1923.

Purchased for £508 6s. (under the Murray Bequest) from the Silten Collection in 1930 (Herr Silten, Berlin W 62, Langrafenstr. 17).
Subjects depicted
Associations
Summary
This figure group of ivory and partly gilded walnut is made by an unknown artist, perhaps in Italy in ca. 1650. Christ lies dead on his shroud. The mourning Virgin stands to the right, near his feet, and an angel stands on the other side, at his head. Above, mourning cherubim and angels hover in the clouds. The ivory figures are set in a fictile rocky setting made of walnut, with gilding representing foliage and two tree stumps. The door to the tomb is seen at the back.

The combination of wood and ivory seen here would have been specifically Italian if this piece dates from the seventeenth, rather than the eighteenth century; comparable works are in the Museo degli Argenti in Florence. Its supposed original Italian provenance, and the style of the Italianate figure of Christ, recalling the work of Alessandro Algardi (1598-1654), do suggest this piece might indeed be Italian, made in the mid-seventeenth century. It is a devotional item, and at the same time a highly-wrought precious work of art.
Bibliographic references
  • Posse, H. Alessandro Algardi. Jahrbuch der Koniglich Preuszischen Kunstsammlungen. XXVI, Berlin, 1905, fig. 3 on p. 172 and fig. 15 on p. 201
  • Scherer, C. Monatshefte für Kunstwissenschaft. I, 1908, pp. 241-2
  • Volbach, W. F. Die Sammlung Silten. Berlin, 1923, pp. 15-16. no. 20, and pls. III and IV
  • Victoria and Albert Museum Annual Review of the Principal Acquisitions. London, 1930, p. 8, pl. VII
  • Durian-Ress, S. Das barocke Grabmal in den sudlichen Niederlanden: Studien zur Ikonographie und Typologie. Aachener Kunstblätter. Cologne, XLV, 1974, p. 286
  • Montagu, J. Alessandro Algardi. New Haven, 1985, II, cat. R11 on p. 465
  • Lock, L. E. Art and Manufacture of Netherlandish Wood Sculpture c. 1600-1750. Sculpture Journal. XII, 2004, pp. 28-9 and fig. 4 on p. 28
  • Leurs, S. Geschiedenis van de Vlaamsche Kunst. Antwerpen, 1937-9, p. 777, afb. 449
  • Berlin Jahrbuch. XXVI, 1905, p. 173
  • Posse, H. Thieme-Becker, Lexikon. I, p. 282
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 291, pp. 298, 9
Collection
Accession number
A.29:0 to 3-1930

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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