David with the Head of Goliath thumbnail 1
David with the Head of Goliath thumbnail 2
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On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

David with the Head of Goliath

Statuette
ca. 1520 (made)
Artist/Maker
Severo Da Ravenna (workshop of)
Bartolomeo Bellano (modeller)
Place of origin
Italy (made)
Ravenna (possibly)

Lost-wax casting was an expensive and highly skilled process. It usually required collaboration between a sculptor and a foundry. Despite the careful finishing of the work, the bronze often retains traces of the casting process. This statuette is derived from a model by the sculptor Bartolomeo Bellano (1437/8-96/7). On David’s left knee is a small square hole. This is where the core pin (now missing) would have held the core in place. This distinctive square core-pin hole is particular to Severo da Ravenna’s workshop.

Object details

Category
Sculpture
Object type
Statuette
TitleDavid with the Head of Goliath (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Bronze
Brief description
Statuette, 'David with the Head of Goliath', bronze, workshop of Severo Calzetta da Ravenna, Italy, probably Ravenna, ca. 1520
Physical description
Bronze statuette of David, sword in hand, with the head of Goliath at his feet.
Dimensions
  • Height: 21.8cm
  • Width: 10.7cm
  • Base to head width: 8cm
  • Depth: 7cm
Object history
Bought from the Soulages Collection for £2 in 1865.
Production
Based on a model by Bartolomeo Bellano.
Subjects depicted
David (King)
Goliath
Summary
Lost-wax casting was an expensive and highly skilled process. It usually required collaboration between a sculptor and a foundry. Despite the careful finishing of the work, the bronze often retains traces of the casting process. This statuette is derived from a model by the sculptor Bartolomeo Bellano (1437/8-96/7). On David’s left knee is a small square hole. This is where the core pin (now missing) would have held the core in place. This distinctive square core-pin hole is particular to Severo da Ravenna’s workshop.
Bibliographic references
  • Motture, Peta, ed., Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance, London: V&A Publishing, 2023. p. 235, cat. 6.4, entry by Peta Motture, Attribution: Workshop of Severo Calzetta da Ravenna
  • Trusted, Majorie. ed. The Making of Sculpture: The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: V&A Publications, 2007, p. 52, pl. 85
  • Inventory of Art Objects acquired in the Year 1865. Inventory of the Objects in the Art Division of the Museum at South Kensington, arranged According to the Dates of their Acquisition. Vol. 1. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., 1868, p. 57
  • Robinson, J. C. Catalogue of the Soulages collection : being a descriptive inventory of a collection of works of decorative art, formerly in the possession of M. Jules Soulages of Toulouse; now, by permission of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, exhibited to the public at the Museum of Ornamental Art, Marlborough House. London : Chapman & Hall, 1856
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
593-1865

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Record createdDecember 17, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O87548/david-with-the-head-of-statuette-severo-da-ravenna/
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