{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O128299"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O128299/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK4611/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK4611/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006BK4611","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BK4612","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2019LY3438","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2019LX7848","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HX7588","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O128299/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O128299","accessionNumber":"REPRO.1903-25","objectType":"Cross","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Painted plaster cast of a green sandstone cross, depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments, signs of the Zodiac, and other subjects.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"sculptor","id":"x43862"},"note":"Original"}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Messrs. John S. Goodfellow","id":"A18104"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":"Copy"}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"Plaster","id":"AAT14922"},{"text":"Paint","id":"AAT15029"},{"text":"","id":""}],"techniques":[{"text":"Casting","id":"AAT53104"},{"text":"Painting","id":"x30598"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Plaster cast using painted plaster. Probably made in parts and the individual plaster panels constructed around an internal structure for support.","categories":[{"text":"Plaster Cast","id":"THES270451"},{"text":"Cast Courts","id":"THES280650"},{"text":"Copies and Facsimiles","id":"THES253072"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SCP","id":"THES48600"},"images":["2006BK4611","2006BK4612","2019LY3438","2019LX7848","2015HX7588"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"46A (VA)","id":"THES49799"},"free":"","case":"FS","shelf":"N","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Cross green sandstone","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Dublin","id":"x28811"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":"Copy"},{"place":{"text":"Dublin","id":"x28811"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":"Monasterboice, Louth, Ireland. Original."}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1903","earliest":"1898-01-01","latest":"1907-12-31"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":"Copy"},{"date":{"text":"ca. 900-950","earliest":"0895-01-01","latest":"0950-12-31"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":"Original"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"536.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"220","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"cross arms","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"The Gaelic inscription on the cross may refer to Muiredach mac Domhnall, one of the abbots from Monasterboice monastery.","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"The Gaelic could be translated as: 'a prayer for Muiredach who had this cross made'.","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Copied from original."}],"objectHistory":"Purchased from the Dublin Museum in 1903 for £32 10s. The taking of the cast by Messrs Goodfellow was organised by the Dublin Museum.","historicalContext":"Making plaster copies is a centuries-old tradition that reached the height of its popularity during the 19th century. The V&A's casts are of large-scale architectural and sculptural works as well as small scale, jewelled book covers and ivory plaques, these last known as fictile ivories. \r\n\r\nThe Museum commissioned casts directly from makers and acquired others in exchange. Oronzio Lelli, of Florence was a key overseas supplier while, in London, Giovanni Franchi and Domenico Brucciani upheld a strong Italian tradition as highly-skilled mould-makers, or formatori.\r\n\r\nSome casts are highly accurate depictions of original works, whilst others are more selective, replicating the outer surface of the original work, rather than its whole structure. Like a photograph, they record the moment the cast was taken: alterations, repairs and the wear and tear of age are all reproduced in the copies. The plasters can also be re-worked, so that their appearance differs slightly from the original from which they were taken.\r\n\r\nTo make a plaster cast, a negative mould has to be taken of the original object. The initial mould could be made from one of several ways. A flexible mould could be made by mixing wax with gutta-percha, a rubbery latex product taken from tropical trees. These two substances formed a mould that had a slightly elastic quality, so that it could easily be removed from the original object. Moulds were also made from gelatine, plaster or clay, and could then be used to create a plaster mould to use for casting. \r\nWhen mixed with water, plaster can be poured into a prepared mould, allowed to set, and can be removed to produce a finished solid form. The moulds are coated with a separating or paring agent to prevent the newly poured plaster sticking to them. The smooth liquid state and slight expansion while setting allowed the quick drying plaster to infill even the most intricate contours of a mould. \r\nFlatter, smaller objects in low relief usually require only one mould to cast the object. For more complex objects, with a raised surface, the mould would have to be made from a number of sections, known as piece-moulds. These pieces are held together in the so-called mother-mould, in order to create a mould of the whole object. Once the object has been cast from this mother-mould, the piece-moulds can be easily removed one by one, to create a cast of the three-dimensional object.","briefDescription":"Painted plaster cast by John S. Goodfellow of a green sandstone cross, depicting scenes from the Old and New Testaments and signs of the Zodiac. Cast around 1903 in Dublin, Ireland.","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Copy","id":"THES48865"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"Cross","id":"x31528"},{"text":"zodiac symbols","id":"AAT9937"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Cast of\r\nUnknown artist\r\nMuiredach’s High Cross (The Monasterboice Cross)\r\nAbout 900–950\r\n\r\nBold imagery of biblical scenes and signs of the Zodiac adorns the tall cross, which is an example of early medieval Irish stonework. Christ is shown being mocked by Roman soldiers before his crucifixion. Elsewhere on the cross are scenes from the Old Testament: Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and Cain slaying Abel. The Gaelic inscription on the cross can be translated as ‘a prayer for Muiredach who had this cross made’. This may refer to Muiredach mac Domhnall, one of the abbots from Monasterboice monastery.\nThe plaster cast has been painted to reflect the colour of the original stone. It was probably made in parts and the individual plaster panels constructed around an internal structure for support.\n\nCast\r\nJohn S. Goodfellow\r\nAbout 1903\r\nPainted plaster\r\nDublin, Ireland\r\nMuseum no. Repro.1903-25\n\nOriginal\r\nGreen sandstone\r\nDublin\r\nMonasterboice, Louth, Ireland\r\nConservation supported by Allchurches Trust, Owners of Ecclesiastical Insurance Group","date":{"text":"21/06/2018","earliest":"2018-06-21","latest":"2018-06-21"}},{"text":"This is a plaster cast of a green sandstone cross carved with scenes from the Old and New Testaments, signs of the Zodiac, and other subjects. The cross itself dates from the early 10th century, and is in the churchyard of Monasterboice, Louth, Ireland. It was made to commemorate Muiredach, abbot of Monasterboice (d.923), as recorded in its inscription. It is one a of a group of so-called Insular Christian crosses made in Britain and Ireland at around that date. The plaster cast was made by Messrs John S. Goodfellow for the Dublin Museum in 1903, and a copy sold to the Victoria and Albert Museum for £32 10s. Other early Christian crosses made in Britain survive, and some are similarly represented by plaster casts at the V&A. \r\n\r\nAbout 1903\r\n\r\nHolly Trusted","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["REPRO.1903-25"],"accessionNumberNum":"25","accessionNumberPrefix":"REPRO","accessionYear":1903,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LW0970"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-16","recordCreationDate":"2006-10-04","availableToBook":false}}