Death thumbnail 1
Death thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Sculpture, Room 111, The Gilbert Bayes Gallery

Death

Statuette
ca. 1670 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a limewood sculpture, representing Death, made in Bavaria in about 1670. This skeleton-figure, a remembrance of death (memento mori) was a subject frequently represented in small-scale sculptures, which were displayed in cabinets of curiosities from the sixteenth century onward. The virtuoso carving of the wood was also characteristic of such pieces.

The techniques used in carving in wood and stone were fundamentally the same. First the sculptor carved the rough shape of the piece, a process known as 'blocking out'. Then, he would work the surface with knives or chisels and abrasives. The figure was generally held horizontally at a workbench and attached to cylindrical shafts, so the sculptor could turn the piece as he carved. Small-scale pieces were generally carved at a workbench.

Before the 15th century people would have considered an unpainted sculpture to be unfinished. But around 1460 wood-carvers in northern Europe began to leave their work deliberately undecorated, as with the skilfully carved figure here. It is not certain why they did this.



Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleDeath (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Limewood
Brief description
Statuette, limewood, of Death, German (Bavarian), ca. 1670
Physical description
Limewood statuette of a skeleton-figure holding a bow and arrows, representing Death.
Dimensions
  • Without base height: 27.94cm
Object history
Bought in 1870.
Historical context
This skeleton-figure, a remembrance of death (memento mori) was a subject frequently represented in small-scale sculptures, which were displayed in cabinets of curiosities from the sixteenth century onward. The virtuoso carving of the wood was also characteristic of such pieces.
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a limewood sculpture, representing Death, made in Bavaria in about 1670. This skeleton-figure, a remembrance of death (memento mori) was a subject frequently represented in small-scale sculptures, which were displayed in cabinets of curiosities from the sixteenth century onward. The virtuoso carving of the wood was also characteristic of such pieces.

The techniques used in carving in wood and stone were fundamentally the same. First the sculptor carved the rough shape of the piece, a process known as 'blocking out'. Then, he would work the surface with knives or chisels and abrasives. The figure was generally held horizontally at a workbench and attached to cylindrical shafts, so the sculptor could turn the piece as he carved. Small-scale pieces were generally carved at a workbench.

Before the 15th century people would have considered an unpainted sculpture to be unfinished. But around 1460 wood-carvers in northern Europe began to leave their work deliberately undecorated, as with the skilfully carved figure here. It is not certain why they did this.

Bibliographic references
  • 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. 28
  • Müller, C. Ein Problem deutscher Kleinplastik des 16. Jahrhunderts. Zeitschrift des Deutschen Vereins für Kunstwissenschaft. 10, 1943, p. 259
Collection
Accession number
299-1870

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Record createdDecember 30, 2003
Record URL
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