Boy blowing a trumpet
Electrotype
1620 (sculpted), ca. 1884 (cast)
1620 (sculpted), ca. 1884 (cast)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is a electrotype copy of the bronze original 'Boy Blowing a Trumpet' ascribed to Pietro Tacca, made in 1620 in Florence. It originates from a fountain from the garden of the Palazzo della Stufa (formerly Casa dell' Antella) in Piazza S. Croce, Florence. It is ascribed to Giovanni Bologna's former assistant and successor, Pietro Tacca.
Electrotyping was another method for making copies of works of art. It used electricity to deposit copper particles into a mould. This copy is made by Elkington & Co. in about 1884 in Birmingham or London. Elkington & Co. was one of the leading British silver manufacturers of the 19th century. Elkington's also used its technologies to manufacture electrotype copies of famous art objects. For a hundred years from the 1840s, Elkington’s name and maker’s mark became one of the world’s first multinational brand identities and corporate trademarks. Elkington supplied luxury products to British and foreign royalty and nobility, wealthy private collectors, new steam shipping lines and railway companies, churches, city councils, and museums all over the world. Passengers on the Titanic dined from Elkington silver and electroplate.
Electrotyping was another method for making copies of works of art. It used electricity to deposit copper particles into a mould. This copy is made by Elkington & Co. in about 1884 in Birmingham or London. Elkington & Co. was one of the leading British silver manufacturers of the 19th century. Elkington's also used its technologies to manufacture electrotype copies of famous art objects. For a hundred years from the 1840s, Elkington’s name and maker’s mark became one of the world’s first multinational brand identities and corporate trademarks. Elkington supplied luxury products to British and foreign royalty and nobility, wealthy private collectors, new steam shipping lines and railway companies, churches, city councils, and museums all over the world. Passengers on the Titanic dined from Elkington silver and electroplate.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Boy blowing a trumpet (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Electrotype copy |
| Brief description | Electrotype Copy, after the original bronze of a Boy Blowing a Trumpet, in the State Hermitage, St. Petersburg, by Pietro Tacca, Italy (Florence), 16th century, cast by Elkington & Co, Birmingham or London, ca. 1884 |
| Gallery label | Electrotyping was another method for making copies of works of art. It used electricity to deposit copper particles into a mould. This electrotype reproduces a bronze figure in the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg. The figure is thought to have originally come from a fountain in the garden of the Palazzo della Stufa in Florence.(2014) |
| Object history | Type patterns associated with this record - previously recorded as parts of this record, now re-numbered as NCOL number to reflect true status, and parts deleted. |
| Historical context | The origin of the bronze, which was acquired for the Hermitage before 1852, is not known. It has been stated that it once surmounted a fountain in Florence, and it has been conjectured that the fountain was the one now in the Victoria and Albert Museum (museum no. 7676-1861) removed from the garden of the Palazzo della Stufa (formerly Casa dell' Antella) in Piazza S. Croce, Florence in 1860. This fountain was described in the seventeenth century as being surmounted by a bronze statue by Giambologna (Giovanni Bologna) (1529-1608). When placed on the fountain recently, this copy did not fit well, and the St Petersburg bronze is clearly not the work of Giovanni Bologna. The fountain must date from after the competition of the Palace in 1619, eleven years after the death of Giovanni Bologna. It is ascribed to his former assistant and successor, Pietro Tacca, to whom the bronze in St Petersburg is in consequence also conjecturally ascribed. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This is a electrotype copy of the bronze original 'Boy Blowing a Trumpet' ascribed to Pietro Tacca, made in 1620 in Florence. It originates from a fountain from the garden of the Palazzo della Stufa (formerly Casa dell' Antella) in Piazza S. Croce, Florence. It is ascribed to Giovanni Bologna's former assistant and successor, Pietro Tacca. Electrotyping was another method for making copies of works of art. It used electricity to deposit copper particles into a mould. This copy is made by Elkington & Co. in about 1884 in Birmingham or London. Elkington & Co. was one of the leading British silver manufacturers of the 19th century. Elkington's also used its technologies to manufacture electrotype copies of famous art objects. For a hundred years from the 1840s, Elkington’s name and maker’s mark became one of the world’s first multinational brand identities and corporate trademarks. Elkington supplied luxury products to British and foreign royalty and nobility, wealthy private collectors, new steam shipping lines and railway companies, churches, city councils, and museums all over the world. Passengers on the Titanic dined from Elkington silver and electroplate. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | REPRO.1884-82 |
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| Record created | June 28, 2000 |
| Record URL |
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