Mask thumbnail 1
Mask thumbnail 2
+2
images
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Mask

Mask
ca. 1700 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
France (made)

This mask and its pair (A.2-1973) are characteristic of decorative sculpture produced under Louis XIV for Versailles and other royal châteaux. Their provenance is not known but they probably functioned as parts of a large fountain.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Architectural Fittings
Object type
Mask
TitleMask
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Bronze
Gilding
Brief description
Mask, French, ca.1700, gilt bronze
Physical description
Mask, bronze. One of a pair. The head is garlanded with reeds. A band with a flat boss, placed centrally crosses the bow. There is no lower jaw. Behind the lip are two parallel incisions, which might indicate '2' in a series.
Dimensions
  • Height: 51cm
  • Width: 57cm
  • Depth: 22cm
Measured by SCP (LS) and FTF (DH) on 13 December 2012 for 1600-1800 Project.
Marks and inscriptions
Two parallel incisions. (Incisions are inside the upper lip.)
Object history
Nothing is known of the provenance. In the last quarter of the 17th century and in the early years of the 18th, an enormous quantity of decorative bronze sculpture of the highest quality was executed for the many projects undertaken by the Direction generale des Batiments du Roi. It is not, therefore, possible to attribute the design of masks of this kind to a particular sculptor.

Purchased together with A.2-1973 from Howard Ricketts, 180 New Bond St.
Subjects depicted
Mask
Reed
Summary
This mask and its pair (A.2-1973) are characteristic of decorative sculpture produced under Louis XIV for Versailles and other royal châteaux. Their provenance is not known but they probably functioned as parts of a large fountain.
Associated object
A.2-1973 (Set)
Bibliographic references
  • cf. Metman, L and Vaudoyers, J.L. Le Metal II, Le Bronze, Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, 1910.
  • Hessling, E. Appliques en bronze, Leipzig, 1911.
  • Lepautre, A. Les oeuvres d'architecture d'Anthoine Lepautre, 1652, plate 48.
  • Berger, R.W. Antoine Lepautre, New York, 1969, pl. 70, 73.
  • cf. Nouveaux livre de Bersseaux et Trilliages. Cabinet Invente par D Marot.
  • Ricketts, Howard. Catalogue, December 4th-15th 1972.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.1-1973

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Record createdFebruary 25, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O93918/mask-mask-unknown/
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