Plaster cast of a font from Hildesheim Cathedral supported by four figures representing the Rivers of Paradise, made by Friedrich Küsthardt in about 1874. The original was made about 1220-25.

Plaster cast of a font from Hildesheim Cathedral with representations on the cover of Moses and Aaron on either side of an altar, an Allegory of Pity, the Anointing of Christ by St. Mary Magdalen, and the Judgment of Solomon; on the bowl, the Passage through the Red Sea of the Israelites and the Ark of the Covenant, the Baptism of Christ, and the Virgin and Child between two bishops and the Provost Wilbernus at her feet; the figures supporting the font represent the Rivers of Paradise.

Cast of a font from Hildesheim Cathedral made from plaster by Friedrich Küsthardt in Hildesheim about 1874 and purchased from F. Künsthardt in 1874 for £19. The original was made by an unknown artist from bronze in Hildesheim about 1220-25.

Making plaster copies is a centuries-old tradition that reached the height of its popularity during the 19th century. The V&A's casts are of large-scale architectural and sculptural works as well as small scale, jewelled book covers and ivory plaques, these last known as fictile ivories.

The Museum commissioned casts directly from makers and acquired others in exchange. Oronzio Lelli, of Florence was a key overseas supplier while, in London, Giovanni Franchi and Domenico Brucciani upheld a strong Italian tradition as highly-skilled mould-makers, or formatori.

Some casts are highly accurate depictions of original works, whilst others are more selective, replicating the outer surface of the original work, rather than its whole structure. Like a photograph, they record the moment the cast was taken: alterations, repairs and the wear and tear of age are all reproduced in the copies. The plasters can also be re-worked, so that their appearance differs slightly from the original from which they were taken.

To make a plaster cast, a negative mould has to be taken of the original object. The initial mould could be made from one of several ways. A flexible mould could be made by mixing wax with gutta-percha, a rubbery latex product taken from tropical trees. These two substances formed a mould that had a slightly elastic quality, so that it could easily be removed from the original object. Moulds were also made from gelatine, plaster or clay, and could then be used to create a plaster mould to use for casting.
When mixed with water, plaster can be poured into a prepared mould, allowed to set, and can be removed to produce a finished solid form. The moulds are coated with a separating or paring agent to prevent the newly poured plaster sticking to them. The smooth liquid state and slight expansion while setting allowed the quick drying plaster to infill even the most intricate contours of a mould.
Flatter, smaller objects in low relief usually require only one mould to cast the object. For more complex objects, with a raised surface, the mould would have to be made from a number of sections, known as piece-moulds. These pieces are held together in the so-called mother-mould, in order to create a mould of the whole object. Once the object has been cast from this mother-mould, the piece-moulds can be easily removed one by one, to create a cast of the three-dimensional object.

This cast reproduces a bronze baptismal font from Hildesheim Cathedral, Germany. The font is supported by four allegorical figures representing the Rivers of Paradise, which flowed from the Garden of Eden. The kneeling figure in front of the Virgin and Child is probably the man who commissioned the font, Wilbrandus of Oldenburg.

REPRO.1874-29