Statuette thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 64, The Wolfson Gallery

Statuette

ca. 1505-1520 (made)
Artist/Maker
Severo Calzetta Da Ravenna (Workshop of)
Place of origin
Padua (made)
Ravenna (made)

This writhing sea monster would originally have had a shell on its tail to serve as an inkwell. Severo devised a way of replicating bronzes that allowed his workshop to produce them in some numbers. Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua, owned at least one of his statuettes, but more modest collectors were also able to afford them.


Object details

Category
Sculpture
Object type
Statuette
Materials and techniques
cast bronze
Bronze
Cast
Brief description
Statuette in the form of a sea monster, bronze, workshop of Severo Calzetta da Ravenna, about 1505-1520
Physical description
Statuette in the form of a sea monster. With a scaled body, fore-flippers and a dolphins tale. The monster has the face of a man with a gaping mouth.
Dimensions
  • Height: 11cm
  • Width: 24cm
  • Depth: 15.5cm
  • Weight: 1.63kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Credit line
Bought under the bequest of Dr W.L. Hildburgh
Subject depicted
Monster
Summary
This writhing sea monster would originally have had a shell on its tail to serve as an inkwell. Severo devised a way of replicating bronzes that allowed his workshop to produce them in some numbers. Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua, owned at least one of his statuettes, but more modest collectors were also able to afford them.
Bibliographic references
  • Avery, Charles. Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes in the Frick Art Museum, Pittsburgh, 1993, cat. nos. 3 & 4, pp. 38-41
  • Binnebeke, Emile von. Bronze Sculpture: Sculpture from 1500-1800 in the Collection of the Boymans- van-Beuningen Museum, Rotterdam, 1994, pp. 50-51, cat. no. 4
  • The Abbott Guggenheim Collection, Christie’s New York, Jan 27 2015, no. 12
  • Pope Hennessy, John. The Frick Collection: An Illustrated Catalogue, Vol. III, New York, 1970, pp. 126-134
  • Meyer, Charles E. 'Nepture on a Dragon by Severo da Ravenna, The "Master of the Dragons"', Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Vol. 38, No. 2 (1958-1959), pp.24-5
  • Davidson, F. Bernice. Severo and the Sea-Monsters, New York, 1997
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.15-1967

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Record createdJune 11, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O248694/statuette-severo-calzetta-da/
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