Not currently on display at the V&A

Wax Relief Set

17th century to early 18th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This group of five wax reliefs modelled in high relief and set on glass may be by Anna Felicitas Neuburger (1650-1731) or her father, Daniel Neuberger (1620-1680. Each panel is set in a framework of black moulded wax and wood. The five reliefs are mounted in velvet and enclosed in a frame of imitation tortoiseshell and ebony with gilt-bronze mouldings.
The following subjects are represented:
(1) The Golden Age - a man in an apple-tree hands down apples to a man and woman seated below with two rabbits on the ground beside them, another man pointing them out to a woman nursing a child and two children playing on the ground: in the middle distance two more couples, one picking fruit, and, in the background, an elephant and a camel. (2) the Siege of Heaven - nine giants brandishing spears and clubs or piling rocks together (Ossa upon Pelion): in the clouds above are Jupiter with a thunderbolt, Mercury with his caduceus, Saturn with a scythe, Neptune with a trident and another unidentified figure.
(3) The Creation (?) - The Creator standing on a cloud floating over the sea in which four large fish are swimming, and pointing to the sun, painted in gold on the glass, and the mountains.
(4) Combat - two warriors on horseback fight with spears, one falling back wounded: below, two men struggle on the earth, and in the background an army marches beneath a cliff on which a castle stands.
(5) A Pastoral Scene - a seated woman holds a baby and a man loads up a horse in front of a hut, beside which chickens are feeding: landscape with trees, in the middle distance a man ploughing with a yoke of oxen and in the background a sower and a traveller.

Subjects (1), (2), (4) and (5) may be intended to represent different aspects of war and peace, and possibly derive from Ovid.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Panels modelled in high-relief on glass in pink and greenish-white wax over blue grounds
Brief description
Panel-reliefs, five pieces, wax on glass, South German or Austrian, probably by Anna Felicitas Neuberger (1650-1731), or her father Daniel Neuberger (1620-1680), 17th or early 18th century.
Physical description
Five panels, modelled in high relief on glass in pink and greenish-white wax over blue grounds. The following subjects are represented:- (1) The Golden Age - a man in an apple-tree passing down apples to a man and woman seated below with two rabbits on the ground beside them, another man pointing them out to a woman nursing a child and two children playing on the ground: in the middle distance two more couples, one picking fruit, and, in the background, an elephant and a camel. (2) the Siege of Heaven - nine giants brandishing spears and clubs or piling rocks together (ossa upon Pelion): in the clouds above are Jupiter with a thunderbolt, Mercury with his caduceus, Saturn with a scythe, Neptune with a trident and another figure. (3) The Creation (?) - The Creator standing on a cloud floating over the sea in which four large fish are swimming, and pointing to the sun (painted in gold on the glass) and mountains. (4) A Combat - two mounted warriors fighting with spears, one falling back wounded: below, two men struggling on the earth, and in the background an army marching under a cliff on which stands a castle. (5) A Pastoral scene - a seated woman holding a baby and a man loading a horse, in front of a hut beside which chickens are feeding: landscape with trees, in the middle distance a man ploughing with a yoke of oxen and in the background a sower and a traveller. The iconography of the whole is uncertain. The subjects shown in scenes (1), (2), (4) and (5) may be intended to represent different aspects of war and peace, possibly taken from Ovid. Each panel is set in a framework of black moulded wax and wood, and all five are mounted in velvet and enclosed in a frame of imitation tortoise-shell and ebony with gilt-bronzed mouldings.
Dimensions
  • Of each panel length: 3.18cm
  • Of each panel height: 2.7cm
  • Of frame height: 33.02cm
  • Of frame width: 23.81cm
Historical context
The subjects (1),(2),(4) and (5) may be intended to represent different aspects of war and peace: possibly taken from Ovid
Subjects depicted
Summary
This group of five wax reliefs modelled in high relief and set on glass may be by Anna Felicitas Neuburger (1650-1731) or her father, Daniel Neuberger (1620-1680. Each panel is set in a framework of black moulded wax and wood. The five reliefs are mounted in velvet and enclosed in a frame of imitation tortoiseshell and ebony with gilt-bronze mouldings.
The following subjects are represented:
(1) The Golden Age - a man in an apple-tree hands down apples to a man and woman seated below with two rabbits on the ground beside them, another man pointing them out to a woman nursing a child and two children playing on the ground: in the middle distance two more couples, one picking fruit, and, in the background, an elephant and a camel. (2) the Siege of Heaven - nine giants brandishing spears and clubs or piling rocks together (Ossa upon Pelion): in the clouds above are Jupiter with a thunderbolt, Mercury with his caduceus, Saturn with a scythe, Neptune with a trident and another unidentified figure.
(3) The Creation (?) - The Creator standing on a cloud floating over the sea in which four large fish are swimming, and pointing to the sun, painted in gold on the glass, and the mountains.
(4) Combat - two warriors on horseback fight with spears, one falling back wounded: below, two men struggle on the earth, and in the background an army marches beneath a cliff on which a castle stands.
(5) A Pastoral Scene - a seated woman holds a baby and a man loads up a horse in front of a hut, beside which chickens are feeding: landscape with trees, in the middle distance a man ploughing with a yoke of oxen and in the background a sower and a traveller.

Subjects (1), (2), (4) and (5) may be intended to represent different aspects of war and peace, and possibly derive from Ovid.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in the Years 1905 - 1908. In: List of Works of Art Acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum, During the Year 1907, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition with Appendix and Indices. London: Printed for His Majesty's Stationery Office, by Eyre and Spottiswoode, Limited, 1909, p. 168
  • Pyke, E. J. A Biographical Dictionary of Wax Modellers. Oxford, 1973, pp. 97-98
  • Hampe, T. "Die Augsburger Wachsbossierer-Familie Neuberger und ihre Arbeiten". In: Das Schwäbische Museum Zeitschrift für Kultur und Geschichte Schwabens, Jahrgang 1930, pp. 113-132, esp. p. 117 and fig 3.
  • Maeve McGrath, Daniel Neuberger the Younger and Anna Felicitas Neuberger. In: The Ceroplastic Oeuvre 1621-1680 and 1650-1741, Regensburg 2016, p. 249, cat. 13
  • Klapsia, Heinrich, "Contributions to Art at the Austrian Imperial Court in the 17th Century 3: Daniel Neuberger". In: Yearbook of the Kunsthistorisches Sammlungen in Wien. Neue Folge Bd. IX, Wien 1935, pp. 223-255, figs 180-184
Collection
Accession number
983-1907

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Record createdFebruary 12, 2004
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