Not currently on display at the V&A

Mask from the group of Laocoon and Sons

Mask
1869 (made)
Artist/Maker
Deere, G. H. (sculptor)
Place of origin
England (made)

This mask was a prize object in the Metalwork section of the Society of Arts Competition for 1870: Deere was awarded £2. The Laocoon is a famous Roman sculpture dating from the first century AD. It was discovered in Rome in 1506 during excavations and is now in the Vatican Museum. The subject is the Trojan priest Laokoon and his two sons, who are attacked by a sea monster outside the city walls of Troy. Since its discovery, the work has deeply influenced sculptors in terms of pose and anatomy. This mask by Deere is one of numerous copies of the Laocoon in whole or part.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
SCRAN
Portraits
Object type
Mask
TitleMask from the group of Laocoon and Sons (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Copper repoussé
Copper
Brief description
Mask, copper repoussé, from the group of Laocoon and Sons, by G.H. Deere, England, 1869
Physical description
Mask of a female head.
Dimensions
  • Height: 22.7cm
  • Width: 22.2cm
Marks and inscriptions
'G.H. DEERE' (signed in the bottom right hand corner)
Object history
Purchased from G. Deere, presumed to be the sculptor, for £7, in 1870.
Summary
This mask was a prize object in the Metalwork section of the Society of Arts Competition for 1870: Deere was awarded £2. The Laocoon is a famous Roman sculpture dating from the first century AD. It was discovered in Rome in 1506 during excavations and is now in the Vatican Museum. The subject is the Trojan priest Laokoon and his two sons, who are attacked by a sea monster outside the city walls of Troy. Since its discovery, the work has deeply influenced sculptors in terms of pose and anatomy. This mask by Deere is one of numerous copies of the Laocoon in whole or part.
Bibliographic references
  • Bilbey, Diane and Trusted Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London, 2002, p. 252, cat. no. 382
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1870, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London: Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., p. 12
  • Cf. Graham, Clare. 'A Noble Kind of Practice': The Society of Arts Art-Workmanship Competitions, 1863-1871. The Burlington Magazine, June 1993, vol. 135, no. 1083, pp. 411-415
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
101-1870

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Record createdJanuary 14, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72966/mask-from-the-group-of-mask-deere-g-h/
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