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Pilaster
Cruchet, Michel-Victor, born 1815 - died 1877 - Enlarge image
Pilaster
- Place of origin:
Paris, France (made)
- Date:
ca. 1855 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Cruchet, Michel-Victor, born 1815 - died 1877 (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Carved limewood, with painting <i>en grisaille</i> on canvas
- Museum number:
2714A/1 to 4-1856
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This pilaster and its pair were shown at the Paris International Exhibition in 1855. Their maker, Michel-Victor Cruchet, was a celebrated carver, who supplied many pieces of furniture to the households of both King Louis-Philippe and Emperor Napoleon III.
Carving was extremely fashionable throughout Europe from about 1840 to 1870. The curators of the newly formed South Kensington Museum, which later became the V&A, bought many pieces from the various international exhibitions of the period. Their declared intention was to show these as examples of excellent craftsmanship, with the aim of improving the skills of British woodcarvers. At the time, woodcarving was practised as a craft by both men and women, though most carvers in commercial workshops were men. The painted cartouche shows a figure of Venus with cupids, illustrated on the right of the image.
