Plaquette, bronze gilt, depicting Apollo and Marsyas, made by Ulocrino, Padua, ca. 1500-1525

Marsyas is depicted tied and bound to a bare tree in a dynamic twisting pose, his Syrinx lying under his flailing cloven hoof. Apollo sits on a rock to the left draped in a cloak fastened to the left, with his quiver on his back, and his Lyre resting on this thigh. Another stringed instrument, a Viol, rests beside him on the ground.

This composition probably derives indirectly from a famous carved antique carnelian gem in the collection of Lorenzo di'Medici, depicting Apollo, Olympos and Marsyas. Some early plaquettes were cast directly from ancient gems. The earliest versions of plaquettes of Apollo and Marsyas, smaller, oval, and with a rather different composition, were Florentine productions that may have been directly cast from this gem, at one point set in a gold mount and known as the "seal of Nero".

Plaquettes were developed in the context of the classical archaeological finds of the first half of the 15th century in Italy, where ancient objects of cultural significance, such as the carved gems, were faithfully recorded and their designs diffused. Renaissance plaquettes, as they were easily portable and relatively affordable, were one means by which designs of well-known ancient gems were circulated.

Historical significance: Plaquettes such as this were collected by humanist scholars, and the style and subject matter reflects the ubiquitous passion for all things connected to ancient Greece and Rome in the Renaissance. There is evidence that they would have been suspended or displayed on shelves in the scholars study amongst original antiquities and other objects all’antica. As a format it died out in Italy at the end of the 16th century, possibly as improving knowledge of the art objects of ancient Greece and Rome rendered the manufacture of objects simply ‘in the antique style’ less desirable. However, plaquettes had also gained popularity in Northern Europe during the 1500’s, and continued to flourish there.

Plaquettes in Renaissance Italy developed from the growing interest in the visual and intellectual cultures of the classical world, and had their place in the collection and display of classical art and artefacts.

Bought for 16s. in 1865.

The format of the plaquette was developed in the mid 15th century, arguably by the artist Filarete and Cardinal Pietro Barbo, later Pope Paul II, (1464-1471), in the bronze foundries he established in Rome. Pietro Barbo was a renowned collector and patron.

The best examples of Italian plaquettes were produced between c.1485 and 1530, and were limited to central and northern Italy. In their purest form they were by definition light and of a size that could be held comfortably in the hand for close inspection. Unlike portarait medals they were one sided. They were modest in their relief and often used rilievo schiacciato, a very shallow form of relief, to give a subtle illusion of depth. This differentiates the plaquette from larger bronze reliefs, along with the fact that up to 50 were cast from the same moulds. Plaquettes were usually cast in Bronze like this Ulocrino relief, and a patina applied. They were sometimes gilded as in this example. They were also also cast in brass, lead or precious metals.

Whilst religious plaquettes had both public and private functions, and mounted religious plaquettes, known as paxes, were held up during mass for the kiss of peace, those with a secular subject matter such as these were usually for private, personal use. They were used as pendants, desk ornaments, and applied to functional objects such as pounce-pots. They were also valued as fine miniature works of art. Plaquettes had a role in disseminating classical imagery and designs throughout Europe. The subject matter was often a miniature composition depicting a scene from classical mythology such as as this from the myth of Apollo and Marsyas.

Marsyas was a Satyr, one of the followers of Bacchus. According to the classical myth the god Minerva invented the flute, but the other gods laughed at the way it puffed out her cheeks. So she laid a curse on the instrument and threw it away. It was found by Marsyas, a talented flute player. The god Apollo, patron of poetry and music, then became very angry when he saw Marsyas’ pride in his skill at the instrument, so he challenged him to a competition, Marsyas on the flute versus Apollo playing his Lyre. The winner was allowed to impose the punishment of their choice on the loser. Apollo’s Muses, the 9 godesses of the creative arts, judged the competition so Apollo was declared the winner. He had Marsyas tied to a pine-tree and flayed alive. According to Ovid’s Metamorphosis the tears of the other Satyrs form the River Marsyas in Phrygia. There was also an ancient Phrygian fertiltity rite involving human sacrifice, with the victim was hanged under a sacred pine tree, which may be reflected in the original myth.

In the Renaissance, and in classical antiquity, the string sound was associated with a spiritual, up lifting quality, whilst the reed pipe was supposed to stir the baser emotions of man. The instruments reflect their player’s traditional attributes. Apollo, as the embodiment of the classical Greek spirit, represented the civilized side of man. Satyrs were traditionally the embodiment of mans baser, animal instincts. This contest would have been an allegory for the intellect versus the emotions, and for Renaissance humanists the act of flaying was an allegory for the shedding of the outer, sensual self.

Little is known about Ulocrino. There is a coherent body of work with this signature, from between 1485 and 1530, of a style and subject matter that suggests Padua or Venice. The compatability of this body of plaquettes by Ulocrino of which this is one, with works by the renowned Paduan sculptor Andrea Briosco, called 'Riccio', has led in the past to the suggestion that they might be by the hand of Riccio, signing under a pseudonym. 'Riccio' means 'curly-haired' in Italian, and it was mooted that Ulocrino could be a hybrid of the Greek Oulos and Latin crinis that would also mean 'curly-haired'.

This association has been rejected by many because of differences in style with a body of signed Riccio plaquettes, but a similarity with Riccio’s later sculpture, and some doubt on the identity of some plaquettes traditionally ascribed to Riccio in recent years, has confused matters further. It is possible that Ulocrino is Riccio's signature in the later stages of his career.

This is a gilt bronze plaque made by Ulocrino in Padua, about 1500-1525. This plaquette represents the myth of Apollo and Marsyas; they engaged in a musical contest and the winner, unsurprisingly, was Apollo. In punishment, he tied Marsyas to a pine tree and flayed him alive. The design of this plaquette is based on an antique gem in the Medici collection. Apollo sits on the left with the quiver on his shoulder and a mantle over his back holding a lyre and a plectrum with a viol on the ground beside him. To the right, Marsyas is bound to a dry tree, the syrinx or flute at his feet.

We know little about the artist, Ulocrino. What we do know for certain is there is a coherent body of work with this signature, from between 1485 and 1530, of a style and subject matter that suggests Padua or Venice. The compatability of this body of plaquettes by Ulocrino with works by the renowned Paduan sculptor Andrea Briosco, called 'Riccio', has led to the suggestion that they might be by the hand of Riccio, signing under a pseudonym. 'Riccio' means 'curly-haired' in Italian, and it has been mooted that Ulocrino could be a hybrid of the Greek Oulos and Latin crinis that would also mean 'curly-haired'.

This theory that Ulocrino can be associated with Riccio has been rejected by many because of differences in style with a body of signed Riccio plaquettes, and the fact that such word-games were very popular in the Reniassance which would account for the similar nickname if Ulocrino also had curly hair. But a similarity with Riccio’s later sculpture, and some doubt on the identity of some plaquettes traditionally ascribed to Riccio in recent years, has confused matters further. In summary, it is possible that Ulocrino is Riccio's signature in the later stages of his career.

95-1865