Plaster Figure
1200-1250 (made)
| Place of origin |
Standing figure, made from plaster with remains of colour and gilding. A similar figure to A.20-1928 with long hair wearing a crown turban with flaps falling over the ears, a necklace and a flower in the hands. The tassel of a girdle falls low. The crown is red in front, blue top, the hair black, and tunic and skirts red and blue in vertical stripes. The feet are missing.
This figure is related to A.20-1928 and A.22-1928, which were likewise both donated by Lady Marling. The registered description says that a 13th-century relief from Rhages (Rayy), now in the Louvre, may be similar.
A.23-1928 (mask, plaster with remains of colour) and A.24-1928 (plaster harpy) were also donated at the same time by Lady Marling. The pigments on A.23-1928 were analysed in 2006 by Raman spectroscopy, by Lucia Burgio in V&A's Conservation Science section. The bright red pigment (on the mouth and eyebrows) was identified as vermilion, the black (on the hair and eyes) gave a weak signal for carbon black, but no spectrum could be obtained for the dull yellow pigment (used for the eyes). See Conservation Science report no. 06-03-LB.
This figure is related to A.20-1928 and A.22-1928, which were likewise both donated by Lady Marling. The registered description says that a 13th-century relief from Rhages (Rayy), now in the Louvre, may be similar.
A.23-1928 (mask, plaster with remains of colour) and A.24-1928 (plaster harpy) were also donated at the same time by Lady Marling. The pigments on A.23-1928 were analysed in 2006 by Raman spectroscopy, by Lucia Burgio in V&A's Conservation Science section. The bright red pigment (on the mouth and eyebrows) was identified as vermilion, the black (on the hair and eyes) gave a weak signal for carbon black, but no spectrum could be obtained for the dull yellow pigment (used for the eyes). See Conservation Science report no. 06-03-LB.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Physical description | Standing figure, made from plaster with remains of colour and gilding. A similar figure to A.20-1928 with long hair wearing a crown turban with flaps falling over the ears, a necklace and a flower in the hands. The tassel of a girdle falls low. The crown is red in front, blue top, the hair black, and tunic and skirts red and blue in vertical stripes. The feet are missing. This figure is related to A.20-1928 and A.22-1928, which were likewise both donated by Lady Marling. The registered description says that a 13th-century relief from Rhages (Rayy), now in the Louvre, may be similar. A.23-1928 (mask, plaster with remains of colour) and A.24-1928 (plaster harpy) were also donated at the same time by Lady Marling. The pigments on A.23-1928 were analysed in 2006 by Raman spectroscopy, by Lucia Burgio in V&A's Conservation Science section. The bright red pigment (on the mouth and eyebrows) was identified as vermilion, the black (on the hair and eyes) gave a weak signal for carbon black, but no spectrum could be obtained for the dull yellow pigment (used for the eyes). See Conservation Science report no. 06-03-LB. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Rudolf Riefstahl, "Persian Islamic Stucco Sculptures: Representation of the Human Figure in Islamic Art", The Art Bulletin, vol. 13, no. 4 (Dec. 1931), pp. 439-463; A.21-1928 is illustrated in fig. 10 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.21-1928 |
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| Record created | September 8, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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