Crying baby in swaddling clothes thumbnail 1
Crying baby in swaddling clothes thumbnail 2
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Crying baby in swaddling clothes

Statuette
ca. 1753 - ca. 1755 (made)
Artist/Maker
Lücke, Johann Christian Ludwig Von (sculptor)
Place of origin
Germany (made)

This ivory and its pendant (V&A mus.no. A.16-1954) have been seen as a playful doll-like parody of representations of the Laughing and Weeping Philosophers, Democritus and Heraclitus. Lücke executed pairs of these in different materials, including steatite. This crying baby (probably a boy) is wrapped in swaddling clothes, and is shown with his nose running and with tears streaming out of his eyes. His tongue, perhaps separately carved and inserted, is visible in his open mouth. The figure is fully carved at the back, with a tuft of hair sticking out above his swaddling clothes.

Object details

Category
Sculpture
Object type
Statuette
TitleCrying baby in swaddling clothes (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Ivory
Ivory
Brief description
Statuette, ivory, a crying baby, by Johann Christoph von Lücke, German, ca. 1753-55
Physical description
The crying baby (probably a boy) is wrapped in swaddling clothes, and is shown with his nose running and with tears streaming out of his eyes. His tongue (perhaps separately carved) is visible in his open mouth. The figure is fully carved at the back, with a tuft of hair sticking out above his swaddling clothes.
Dimensions
  • Height: 16cm
Gallery label
(1993 - 2011)
TWO BABIES
German; middle of the 18th century
Ivory
By Johann Christoph Ludwig Von Lücke (b. 1705; d. 1780)
Object history
Provenance - Bought for £55, together with cat. no. (A. 17-1954) from M. Hakim, 33 Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square, London in 1954. Said to have been formerly in the collection of Earl Fitzwilliam, presumably William Henry Lawrence Peter Wentworth-FitzWilliam, 8th Earl FitzWilliam (1910-1948) of Wentworth Woodhouse in Yorkshire.
Subject depicted
Boy
Summary
This ivory and its pendant (V&A mus.no. A.16-1954) have been seen as a playful doll-like parody of representations of the Laughing and Weeping Philosophers, Democritus and Heraclitus. Lücke executed pairs of these in different materials, including steatite. This crying baby (probably a boy) is wrapped in swaddling clothes, and is shown with his nose running and with tears streaming out of his eyes. His tongue, perhaps separately carved and inserted, is visible in his open mouth. The figure is fully carved at the back, with a tuft of hair sticking out above his swaddling clothes.
Associated object
A.16-1954 (Ensemble)
Bibliographic references
  • Rasmussen, Jörg, Barockplastik in Norddeutschland, Hamburg: Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg, 1977.
  • Theuerkauff, Christian, ed. Elfenbein, Sammlung Reiner Winkler, Vol I, 1984, p. 82, no. 40
  • Theuerkauff, Christian, ‘Johann Christoph Ludwig Lücke - “Ober-Modell-Meister und Inventions-Meister” in Meissen, “Ober-Direktor” zu Wien. II’, in: Alte und Moderne Kunst, XXVII, 183, 1982, pp. 21-32
  • Trusted, Marjorie, ed. The Making of Sculpture. The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: 2007, pp. 102-3, pl. 179
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 77
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.17-1954

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O311614/crying-baby-in-swaddling-clothes-statuette-lücke-johann-christian/
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest