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Statuette - David with the head of Goliath

David with the head of Goliath

  • Object:

    Statuette

  • Place of origin:

    Ravenna, Italy (probably, made)

  • Date:

    1520-1550 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Severo da Ravenna (workshop of, maker)
    Bellano, Bartolomeo, born 1437 - died 1497 (after, modeller)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Bronze

  • Museum number:

    593-1865

  • Gallery location:

    Sculpture, room 111, case 4

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Lost-wax casting was an expensive and highly skilled process. It usually required collaboration between a sculptor and a foundry. Despite the careful finishing of the work, the bronze often retains traces of the casting process. This statuette is derived from a model by the sculptor Bartolomeo Bellano (1437/8-96/7). On David’s left knee is a small square hole. This is where the core pin (now missing) would have held the core in place. This distinctive square core-pin hole is particular to Severo da Ravenna’s workshop.

Physical description

Bronze statuette of David, sword in hand, with the head of Goliath at his feet.

Place of Origin

Ravenna, Italy (probably, made)

Date

1520-1550 (made)

Artist/maker

Severo da Ravenna (workshop of, maker)
Bellano, Bartolomeo, born 1437 - died 1497 (after, modeller)

Materials and Techniques

Bronze

Dimensions

Height: 21.8 cm, Width: 10.7 cm, Width: 8 cm base to head, Depth: 7 cm

Descriptive line

David with the head of Goliath, Italian (probably Ravenna), ca. 1520-50

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Robinson, J. C. Catalogue of the Soulages collection : being a descriptive inventory of a collection of works of decorative art, formerly in the possession of M. Jules Soulages of Toulouse; now, by permission of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, exhibited to the public at the Museum of Ornamental Art, Marlborough House. London : Chapman & Hall, 1856.
Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1865. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868., p. 57.
Trusted, Majorie. ed. The Making of Sculpture: The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: V&A Publications, 2007. p. 52, pl. 85.

Production Note

Based on a model by Bartolommeo Bellano.

Materials

Bronze

Subjects depicted

David (King); Goliath

Categories

Sculpture

Collection code

SCP

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Qr_O87548
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