Scene from the legend of Ossian
Panel
1809 (made)
1809 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
On its acquisition in 1932, this panel of inlaid coloured plaster was considered to be an interesting example for technical purposes, no other example being in the Museum's collections at the time. Scagliola, a technique originating in Italy, is plaster coloured in imitation of marble or stone. This relief depicts the legend of Ossian, supposedly a 3rd-century Irish warrior and bard whose poems were collected and translated by James Macpherson (1736-1796) and published in the 1760s. Macpherson, in reality, had collected obscure songs and verses of the recent past in the Irish language, fraudulently rewritten them and then published them as by the fictive Ossian.
John Augustus Richter (1730-after 1809) was the father of the painter Henry J. Richter (1772-1857), who exhibited two watercolours based on the poems of Ossian at the Royal Academy in London in 1792. Richter came to England from Desden before the year 1770 and set himself up as a senior partner in Richter and Bartoli, a firm of Scagliolists (manufaturers of scagliola) located in Newport Street, Long Acre, London. It may have been Henry (the father) who designed this panel, which was later produced in scagliola by his son. In 1795 father and son published an illustrated edition of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, the plates of which were mostly produced by Henry.
John Augustus Richter (1730-after 1809) was the father of the painter Henry J. Richter (1772-1857), who exhibited two watercolours based on the poems of Ossian at the Royal Academy in London in 1792. Richter came to England from Desden before the year 1770 and set himself up as a senior partner in Richter and Bartoli, a firm of Scagliolists (manufaturers of scagliola) located in Newport Street, Long Acre, London. It may have been Henry (the father) who designed this panel, which was later produced in scagliola by his son. In 1795 father and son published an illustrated edition of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, the plates of which were mostly produced by Henry.
Object details
Category | |
Object type | |
Title | Scene from the legend of Ossian (generic title) |
Materials and techniques | Scagliola |
Brief description | Panel, scagliola, scene from Ossian, by John Augustus Richter, England, 1809 |
Physical description | Scene from Ossian, scagliola. In the middle of a pseudo classical hall is a girl playing a harp, to the right a seated shieftain listens attended by a young knight in armour who stands beside him; to the left under an arch a woman and an old man stand watching. Inscribed on the back in ink: Ossian: On the harp arose the white hands of Oinamoral. She waked her own sad tale from every trembling string. I stood in silence for bright in her looks was the Daughter of many Isles.; Inlaid by John Augustus Richter, Scagliolist, London, 1809, Aet, 79. Inscribed in ink. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | 'Ossian/"On the harp arose the white hands of/Oina-morul. She waked her own/sad tale, from every trmebling string./I stood in silence; for bright in/her locks was the Daughter of/many Isles./Inlaid by/JOHN AUGUSTUS RICHTER,/Scagliolist, London 1809, Act: 79.' (on the reverse in ink) |
Credit line | Given by Mrs B. Theodore |
Object history | Given by Mrs B. Theodore, 45-47. Baker Street, London, in 1932. |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | On its acquisition in 1932, this panel of inlaid coloured plaster was considered to be an interesting example for technical purposes, no other example being in the Museum's collections at the time. Scagliola, a technique originating in Italy, is plaster coloured in imitation of marble or stone. This relief depicts the legend of Ossian, supposedly a 3rd-century Irish warrior and bard whose poems were collected and translated by James Macpherson (1736-1796) and published in the 1760s. Macpherson, in reality, had collected obscure songs and verses of the recent past in the Irish language, fraudulently rewritten them and then published them as by the fictive Ossian. John Augustus Richter (1730-after 1809) was the father of the painter Henry J. Richter (1772-1857), who exhibited two watercolours based on the poems of Ossian at the Royal Academy in London in 1792. Richter came to England from Desden before the year 1770 and set himself up as a senior partner in Richter and Bartoli, a firm of Scagliolists (manufaturers of scagliola) located in Newport Street, Long Acre, London. It may have been Henry (the father) who designed this panel, which was later produced in scagliola by his son. In 1795 father and son published an illustrated edition of John Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost, the plates of which were mostly produced by Henry. |
Bibliographic references |
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Collection | |
Accession number | A.25-1932 |
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Record created | February 26, 2003 |
Record URL |
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