{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O40924"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O40924/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK4610/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK4610/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006BK4610","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2011FC4417","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2016JA0596","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2016JA0658","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2016JA0593","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JX2802","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2019MA8417","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O40924/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O40924","accessionNumber":"REPRO.1902-17","objectType":"Lintel","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"Samson wrestles a lion with his bare hands in the centre of the lintel. On the left, Delilah secretly cuts his long hair – the key to his legendary strength. Rendered powerless, Samson’s eyes are gouged out by the Philistines (on the right). This cast was made specifically for the V&A as part of a mutually beneficial sale of architectural reproductions between the Museum and Belgium in 1902.","physicalDescription":"Plaster cast of the lintel of a doorway in stone, carved with scenes from the Life of Samson, in the Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude at Nivelles, Belgium.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"plaster","id":"AAT14922"}],"techniques":[{"text":"casting","id":"AAT53104"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Plaster cast","categories":[{"text":"Sculpture","id":"THES48896"},{"text":"Architecture","id":"THES48993"},{"text":"Christianity","id":"THES48978"},{"text":"Plaster Cast","id":"THES270451"},{"text":"Cast Courts","id":"THES280650"},{"text":"Architectural fittings","id":"THES48994"},{"text":"Copies and Facsimiles","id":"THES253072"}],"styles":[{"text":"Flemish","id":"AAT111184"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"SCP","id":"THES48600"},"images":["2006BK4610","2011FC4417","2016JA0596","2016JA0658","2016JA0593","2017JX2802","2019MA8417"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"46A","id":"THES49799"},"free":"","case":"WE","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Copy of a lintel of a doorway stone","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Brussels","id":"x31976"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"copy"},{"place":{"text":"Nivelles","id":"x32638"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"original"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1902","earliest":"1897-01-01","latest":"1906-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Copy"},{"date":{"text":"first half 11th century","earliest":"1000-01-01","latest":"1050-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Original"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"307.97","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"measurement taken from departmental record"},{"dimension":"Width","value":"332.1","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"measurement taken from departmental record"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Cast of a doorway lintel acquired in exchange with the Belgian Royal Commission for Promoting the Reproduction of Works of Art in 1902 for £52 (together with museum nos. 1902-14 to 17). The cast is of the lintel of a doorway in stone, carved with scenes from the Life of Samson, in the Collegiate Church of St. Gertrude at Nivelles, Belgium.","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":"Plaster cast of a doorway lintel made specifically for the V&A in 1902 and depicts the story of Samson and Delilah. The original was made for Collegiate Church of St Gertrude, Nivelles in Belgium in 1000-1050.","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Copy","id":"THES48865"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Samson","id":"N654"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"lintels","id":"AAT3161"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"2. Cast of\r\nUnknown artist\r\nDoorway Lintel\r\n1000–50\n\nSamson wrestles a lion with his bare hands in the centre of the lintel. On the left, Delilah secretly cuts his long hair – the key to his legendary strength. Rendered powerless, Samson’s eyes are gouged out by the Philistines (on the right). This cast was made specifically for the V&A as part of a mutually beneficial sale of architectural reproductions between the Museum and Belgium in 1902.\n\nCast\r\nAbout 1902\r\nPlaster\r\nProbably Brussels\r\nPurchased from the Belgian Royal Commission for Promoting Reproductions of Works of Art\r\nMuseum no. Repro.1902-17\n\nOriginal\r\nStone\r\nBelgium\r\nCollegiate Church of St Gertrude, Nivelles","date":{"text":"21/06/2018","earliest":"2018-06-21","latest":"2018-06-21"}}],"partNumbers":["REPRO.1902-17"],"accessionNumberNum":"17","accessionNumberPrefix":"REPRO","accessionYear":1902,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-08-12","recordCreationDate":"2000-06-27","availableToBook":false}}