Leda and the Swan
Statuette
ca. 1850 - ca. 1880 (made)
ca. 1850 - ca. 1880 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This was one of ten marble sculptures which were included in the assets of the Department for the Supply of Casts, and discovered during stocktaking at the end of March 1934. These had been included with the remaining stock of plaster casts and moulds which were in the possession of the Brucciani cast-selling business, when it was taken over by the Museum agency, the Department for the Sale of Casts, in 1921.
This figure may be Italian or English, when accessioned in 1934 it was tentatively attributed to Canova. Some of the most important plaster casts acquired by the Museum were commissioned through the Anglo-Italian firm established by Domenico Brucciani (1815-1880). His most illustrious achievement was the cast of the Portal of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The importance of the Brucciani cast selling business in the supply of casts to art schools, and the strong connections with the British Museum and the V&A were such that when the company ran into financial difficulties in 1921, it was taken over by the Board of Education as a public service, and organised as an educational branch of the V&A, named the Department for the Sale of Casts. The sale of casts continued at the Museum till 1951.
This figure may be Italian or English, when accessioned in 1934 it was tentatively attributed to Canova. Some of the most important plaster casts acquired by the Museum were commissioned through the Anglo-Italian firm established by Domenico Brucciani (1815-1880). His most illustrious achievement was the cast of the Portal of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The importance of the Brucciani cast selling business in the supply of casts to art schools, and the strong connections with the British Museum and the V&A were such that when the company ran into financial difficulties in 1921, it was taken over by the Board of Education as a public service, and organised as an educational branch of the V&A, named the Department for the Sale of Casts. The sale of casts continued at the Museum till 1951.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Leda and the Swan (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Marble |
| Brief description | Statuette, marble, Leda and the swan, by an unknown sculptor, English or Italian, dated 1781, but probably about 1850-80 |
| Physical description | Leda and the Swan, statuette in marble. Leda seated on a rock covered with drapery, leans back, resting on her right arm, while with her left she caresses the neck of the Swan, who is held between her legs, his beak resting on her shoulder. 'Found' among the stock of Messrs. Brucciani with an untenable attribution to Canova. Signed and dated. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'Antonio Cannova./fec 1781' (on the back ) |
| Object history | Formerly in the possession of Domenico Brucciani & Co. Transferred from the Department for the Sale of Casts in 1935 and accessioned as a museum object in that year. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This was one of ten marble sculptures which were included in the assets of the Department for the Supply of Casts, and discovered during stocktaking at the end of March 1934. These had been included with the remaining stock of plaster casts and moulds which were in the possession of the Brucciani cast-selling business, when it was taken over by the Museum agency, the Department for the Sale of Casts, in 1921. This figure may be Italian or English, when accessioned in 1934 it was tentatively attributed to Canova. Some of the most important plaster casts acquired by the Museum were commissioned through the Anglo-Italian firm established by Domenico Brucciani (1815-1880). His most illustrious achievement was the cast of the Portal of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The importance of the Brucciani cast selling business in the supply of casts to art schools, and the strong connections with the British Museum and the V&A were such that when the company ran into financial difficulties in 1921, it was taken over by the Board of Education as a public service, and organised as an educational branch of the V&A, named the Department for the Sale of Casts. The sale of casts continued at the Museum till 1951. |
| Bibliographic reference | Bilbey, Diane with Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V& A Publications, 2002. pp. 445-6, cat. no. 734 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.46-1935 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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