Physical description
Mirror, bronze, partially gilt mirror frame, depicting 'Virgin & Child with Angels and Music-making Putti' in the style of Luca della Robbia.
Place of Origin
Florence
Date
1425-1450 (made)
Artist/maker
Robbia, Luca della
Materials and Techniques
Partially gilt bronze carved in relief
Dimensions
Diameter: 17.5 cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Historical context note
There are two other extant versions of this relief, although neither of these is described as a mirror (a third one, which is also a mirror, was sold at Christie’s in Winter 2005/ Spring 2006). Our copy is thought to be the work of either Luca della Robbia or in his style. The association with della Robbia is based on the theory that this artist during the first half of the 15th century produced small bronze works of this type. This is based on work by John Pope-Hennessy, who backs up his argument by pointing to a series of small stucco and terracotta reliefs which he thought must have derived from a single original made of bronze and produced by Luca della Robbia. He says that the medium of the lost original (i.e. bronze) is revealed by a slight undulation of the surface of the stucco and terracotta reliefs, which is analogous to that on the gilt bronze roundel depicting the Holy Spirit in the shape of a dove, firmly attributed to Luca and now to be found in Peretola.
While there appears to be some similarity between the folds on the dress of the seated Virgin Mary in the terracotta roundels and those in our mirror, why, if Luca della Robbia was supposed to have produced small bronzes in this way, are more of them are not extant.
Giorgio Vasari, in his Lives of the Artists, states that Luca, while still a goldsmith, started making objects of bronze and marble. However Vasari is not always a reliable source, and the attribution of the mirror should remain in the ‘style of’, rather than by the ‘hand of’ Luca della Robbia.
The edge of this mirror is rough and unpolished, as is the one that was sold at Christies. They both also present three little grooves, our one on the top edge, and the Christie’s one on the bottom edge. Put together, these characteristics indicate that the roundel was probably inserted into a surrounding frame and the grooves had some sort of gripping function.
When the present mirror arrived in the V&A it came inserted in a circular wooden frame (7694-1861); it is now thought that the mirror must have been inserted at a later date and that the frame itself might be a fake, however, there is no reason to suppose that our mirror might not have originally belonged in another circular frame of the same type. There are contemporary examples of such frames, and in one case there is a flat relief (not, however a mirror) made of stucco, painted and gilt, that remains set within its round wooden frame.
It is unlikely that this mirror was used as a hand mirror on its own, i.e. with no containing frame. It is too heavy to be held comfortably in one hand and the example of a hand mirror I have found, in a painting by Giovanni Bellini (see figure 4), shows a plain, flat back, with no relief, which would also have made it uncomfortable to hold, and would, in our case, have procured more damage than is currently visible to the gilding and relief sculpture. Furthermore it is unlikely that the mirror, if it was intended as a stand-alone object, would have been left with rough, uneven sides.
It is likely that the relief side of the mirror would have been set to the front of the frame, and the mirror surface to the back. This would tie in well with the fact that the other examples of this relief are not mirrors – its primary function would appear to be decorative, and in this case also devotional, as the imagery would indicate. Furthermore, the mirror surface would have been protected by being placed against the wall until needed. Because of the combined nature of the imagery – a Madonna and Child, and the purpose – as a mirror, it is likely that this object would have been hung on the wall of a bedchamber.
Descriptive line
Mirror, 'Virgin & Child with Angels and Music-making Putti' in the style of Luca della Robbia, bronze, partially gilt mirror frame, Florence, Italy, second quarter of the 15th century.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Pollen, John Hungersford. Ancient and modern furniture and woodwork in the S.K.M.. London, 1874, pp. 185-7
for the frame
Materials
Bronze
Techniques
Gilding; Carving; Relief
Subjects depicted
Mary (Virgin Mary); Cherubs; Angel; The Christ Child
Categories
Christianity; Religion; Sculpture; Furniture
Collection code
SCP
