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Abundanca and the Satyr
Pseudo-Antonio da Brescia - Enlarge image
Abundanca and the Satyr
- Object:
Plaquette
- Place of origin:
Italy (made)
- Date:
ca. 1500 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Pseudo-Antonio da Brescia (artist)
- Materials and Techniques:
Bronze
- Museum number:
A.474-1910
- Gallery location:
In Storage
Plaquettes are small plaques or reliefs made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in the 1440ies with the desire to reproduce coins and hardstone engravings from ancient Greece and Rome. Some were made as collector's pieces, to be viewed and displayed in private, and others for practical purposes. They also inspired designs in other media, from architecture to book-bindings.
Whilst religious plaquettes had both public and private functions, and mounted religious plaquettes, known as paxes, were held up during mass for the kiss of peace, those with a secular subject matter were usually for private, personal use. They were used as pendants, desk ornaments, and applied to functional objects such as pounce-pots. They were also valued as fine miniature works of art. Plaquettes had a role in disseminating classical imagery and designs throughout Europe, in the same manner as the contemporary print. The subject matter was often a miniature composition, only rarely a single isolated figure.
