Crying baby in swaddling clothes
Statuette
ca. 1753 - ca. 1755 (made)
ca. 1753 - ca. 1755 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
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 | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Crying baby in swaddling clothes (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | 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 |
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| Gallery label | TWO BABIES
German; middle of the 18th century
Ivory
By Johann Christoph Ludwig Von Lücke (b. 1705; d. 1780)
(1993 - 2011) |
| 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 | |
| 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 |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.17-1954 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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