Plaque thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ironwork, Room 114c

Plaque

1500-1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Italy (made)

Wrought iron plaque with a view of the city of Pesaro picked out in gold and silver.


Object details

Categories
Metalwork
Ironwork
Plaques & Plaquettes
Object type
Plaque
Materials and techniques
Wrought iron damascened with gold and silver
Wrought Iron
Gold
Silver
Forging (Metal Forming)
Damascening
Brief description
Plaque showing the city of Pesaro, wrought iron, damascened with gold and silver, Italy, 1500-1600
Physical description
Wrought iron plaque with a view of the city of Pesaro picked out in gold and silver.
Dimensions
  • Height: 15in (Note: Dimension taken from register.)
  • Width: 21in (Note: Dimension taken from register.)
Gallery label
  • PLAQUE. Iron, damascened with gold and silver, with view of the city of Urbino (from a piece of furniture made for one of the Dukes of Urbino). Italian. 16th centy. 21 in. by 15 in. Bought (Museum of the Collegio Romano).(1859)
  • PLAQUE, wrought iron, damascened, Italy; 16th century From a piece of furniture, possibly a cabinet, made for one of the Dukes of Urbino, this plaque shows a view of the city of Urbino picked out in gold and silver. The workmanship is superior to that of the plaque of Pesaro also displayed here. The design of the border is very similar to those on contemporary carpets. For more information on damascening and other examples of the technique, see the Decorative Techniques case nearby and the cabinet in the balcony to the left. Museum No. 4707-1859(07/1994)
Object history
The plaque was probably mounted originally on a piece of furniture, possibly a cabinet, made for one of the Dukes of Urbino. The Museum purchased this plaque in 1859 (together with plaque 4708-1859) from the collections of the museum in the Collegio Romano (established in the seventeenth century by the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher at the Jesuit college in Rome). The description of the scenes on the two plaques were confused, and since its arrival in the V&A collections, it has been incorrectly described as a 'view of the city of Urbino'. We are grateful to Dr Sylvio Leydi for pointing out the confusion.
Subject depicted
Landscapes (Representations)
Place depicted
Pesaro
Bibliographic references
  • Leydi, Silvio. 'Mobili milanesi in acciaio e metalli preziosi nell'età del manierismo.' In: Fatto in Italia. Dal Medioevo al Made in Italy, ed. Alessandra Guerrini, et al. Catalogue of the exhibition held at Reggia di Venaria, Turin, 19 March - 10 July 2016. Milan: Silvana Editoriale, 2016, pp. 121-137. ISBN 9788836633227.
  • Cherchiai, Claudia, ed. Il Collegio romano dalle origini ai Ministerio per i beni e le attività culturali. Rome: Zecca dello Stato, 2003. ISBN 882403473X
  • Bartola, Alberto. 'Alle origini del Museo del Collegio Romano'. In: Nuncius, 19.1 (2004), pp. 297-356.
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
4707-1859

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O380292/plaque-unknown/
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