We don’t have an image of this object online yet. V&A Images may have a photograph that we can’t show online, but it may be possible to supply one to you. Email us at vaimages@vam.ac.uk for guidance about fees and timescales, quoting the accession number: 7379-1861
Find out about our images

Not currently on display at the V&A

A Lion Hunt

Plaquette
1500 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Plaquettes are small reliefs made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in the 1440s 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 or devotional purposes, such as decorations for caskets, ink-stands and paxes.

Belli (1468-1546) was born into a respected Vicentine family. He trained as a goldsmith and developed considerable skills in engraving crystals and dies. For Pope Clement VII he created his masterpiece, a crystal casket with 24 scenes from the life of Christ, now in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.
Belli was strongly influenced by Raphael and Michelangelo.
He had a facility to work very quickly, and Vasari noted that Belli had flooded the world with his works.
Belli spent the most important part of his career in Rome, working for two successive popes. Almost all of his bronze plaquettes are cast from his engravings in rock crystal or hardstone.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleA Lion Hunt (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Brief description
Plaquette, bronze, A Lion Hunt, by Valerio Belli, Italy, 16th century
Physical description
Inscribed plaque.
Dimensions
  • Height: 7.2cm
  • Width: 8.1cm
Content description
Plaque depicts five mounted men in antique dress gallopping from the left, some waving spears. In the foreground a pair of lions is chased by three dogs, and in the background is a tree.
Marks and inscriptions
'VALERIVS VICENTINVS. F' (Signed in the exergue.)
Object history
Bought in 1861 for 8s.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Plaquettes are small reliefs made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in the 1440s 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 or devotional purposes, such as decorations for caskets, ink-stands and paxes.

Belli (1468-1546) was born into a respected Vicentine family. He trained as a goldsmith and developed considerable skills in engraving crystals and dies. For Pope Clement VII he created his masterpiece, a crystal casket with 24 scenes from the life of Christ, now in the Palazzo Pitti in Florence.
Belli was strongly influenced by Raphael and Michelangelo.
He had a facility to work very quickly, and Vasari noted that Belli had flooded the world with his works.
Belli spent the most important part of his career in Rome, working for two successive popes. Almost all of his bronze plaquettes are cast from his engravings in rock crystal or hardstone.
Bibliographic references
  • Inventory of Art Objects Acquired in the Year 1861. In: Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, Arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol I. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 31
  • Martini, Luciana. Piccoli bronzi e placchette del Museo Nazionale di Ravenna. Bologna: University Press, 1985, pp. 177-178, no. 54
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. Reliefs - Plaquettes - Statuettes - Utensils and Mortars . London: 1965, p. 11, no. 18, fig 365
  • Maclagan, Eric. Catalogue of Italian Plaquettes . London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1924, p. 67
Collection
Accession number
7379-1861

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
Download as: JSON