The Nativity thumbnail 1
The Nativity thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Cast Courts, Room 46b, The Weston Cast Court

The Nativity

Relief
third quarter of the 15th century (sculpted), ca.1888 (cast)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Plaster cast of The Nativity after the marble original roundel by Antonio Rossellino, in the Museo Nazionale (Bargello), Florence.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleThe Nativity (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Plaster cast
Brief description
Plaster cast relief, The Nativity, after a marble original by Antonio Rossellino, cast. ca. 1888
Physical description
Plaster cast of The Nativity after the marble original roundel by Antonio Rossellino, in the Museo Nazionale (Bargello), Florence.
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 122cm
  • Framed height: 142cm
  • Framed width: 144cm
  • Framed depth: 26.5cm
  • Framed weight: 146kg
Framed measurements taken on 18/11/2010 for Cast Courts project
Object history
Acquired in exchange from the Berlin Museum in 1888 for £5 (100 marks)
Historical context
There are no documents relating to the commission or original location of this relief and it is ascribed to Antonio Rossellino on stylistic grounds. It was purchased for the Bargello in 1815 from Avvocato Raffaello Maldura. In 1837-44, the Nativity was copied by Lorenzo Bartolini for his monument to Countess Zamoyska in the church of S. Croce, Florence. There is a full-scale nineteenth century marble copy of the Bargello tondo in the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. A terracotta variant of the original composition which was formerly in the Königliche Museen in Berlin, was believed at one time to be the model for Rossellino's Nativity.
Subjects depicted
Collection
Accession number
REPRO.1888-521

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Record createdDecember 7, 1999
Record URL
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