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Relief

1843-1851 (cast), 16th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This relief panel, showing two harpies supporting a cartouche with a lion, is a 19th century plaster cast from the façade of Santa Maria de' Miracoli (Brescia), which was completed in the 16th century. The lion is a symbol of St. Mark, one of the four Evangelists. Ludovico Berretta was the architect and designer of the façade, but the sculptors of the ornaments are unknown.

This cast was part of the collection of 487 fragments purchased in 1851 from the Government Schools of Design, and was one of 62 taken from the façade of the Church of Santa Maria de' Miracoli in Brescia. These casts served as models of design for the schools' students.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Plaster cast
Brief description
Relief panel showing two harpies supporting a cartouche of a lion, from the frieze of Santa Maria de' Miracoli. 19th century plaster cast of 16th century Italian original.
Physical description
Relief panel showing two harpies supporting a cartouche of a lion.
Dimensions
  • Approximately height: 78cm
  • Approximately width: 35cm
  • Weight: 10kg
Style
Object history
This cast is one of 62 taken from the façade of the Church of Santa Maria de' Miracoli in Brescia.

Historical significance: Wornum described the façade of the church as ''one of the most remarkable in Italy as a monument of the florid Cinque-cento arabesque, and is in itself an admirable exponent of the style''.
Historical context
This cast was part of the collection of 487 fragments purchased in 1851 from the Schools of Design. These casts served as models of design for the schools' students.

The first Government School of Design was established in London in 1837 at Somerset House. From 1837 to 1851, eighteen more schools were founded in provincial cities such as Manchester and Birmingham. The schools were set up by a government Committee on Arts and Manufactures 'for the purpose of affording Instruction to those engaged in the practice of ornamental Art, and the preparation of Designs for the various Manufactures of this country' (Wainwright 2002, p. 5). The Committee immediately began acquiring a collection of plaster casts for the schools, so that their students could copy and sketch from the best examples of ancient and modern ornamental art. After his substantial contribution to organising the 1851 Great Exhibition of modern British manufactures, Henry Cole was appointed the Head of the Schools of Design in 1852. He expanded the school's collection to include not only casts, but also electrotypes, modern drawings, and decorative art for a new museum that could be visited by the public. This museum, the progenitor of the Victoria and Albert Museum, first opened at Marlborough House in 1852.
Production
19th century copy of 16th century Italian original
Subjects depicted
Summary
This relief panel, showing two harpies supporting a cartouche with a lion, is a 19th century plaster cast from the façade of Santa Maria de' Miracoli (Brescia), which was completed in the 16th century. The lion is a symbol of St. Mark, one of the four Evangelists. Ludovico Berretta was the architect and designer of the façade, but the sculptors of the ornaments are unknown.

This cast was part of the collection of 487 fragments purchased in 1851 from the Government Schools of Design, and was one of 62 taken from the façade of the Church of Santa Maria de' Miracoli in Brescia. These casts served as models of design for the schools' students.
Bibliographic references
  • Wornum, R.M. Catalogue of Ornamental Cast in the Possession of the Department. Third Division, Renaissance Styles. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1854. pp. 26-27. cat. no. 8.
  • Wainwright, Clive and Gere, Charlotte (ed.), 'The making of the South Kensington Museum I: The Government Schools of Design and the founding collection, 1837-51.' Journal of the History of Collections 14:1 (2002) pp. 3-24.
Collection
Accession number
REPRO.1851-70

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
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