{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O40929"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O40929/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2019LX7037/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2019LX7037/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2019LX7037","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2019LX7048","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O40929/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O40929","accessionNumber":"REPRO.A.1938-21","objectType":"Statue","titles":[{"title":"St Mary Magdalen","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"The Museum used to think that this cast was made from a figure in the chapel of Magdalen College (named after St Mary) in Oxford. However, there is no original sculpture in the chapel that corresponds to the cast, and so the identity of the original sculpture is a mystery.","physicalDescription":"Plaster cast of a statue depicting St. Mary Magdalen.","artistMakerPerson":[],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"plaster","id":"AAT14922"},{"text":"paint","id":"AAT15029"}],"techniques":[{"text":"casting","id":"AAT53104"},{"text":"painting","id":"x30598"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Painted plaster cast","categories":[{"text":"Sculpture","id":"THES48896"},{"text":"Christianity","id":"THES48978"},{"text":"Plaster Cast","id":"THES270451"},{"text":"Cast Courts","id":"THES280650"},{"text":"Copies and Facsimiles","id":"THES253072"},{"text":"Crystal Palace","id":"THES252996"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SCP","id":"THES48600"},"images":["2019LX7037","2019LX7048"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"46a","id":"THES49799"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Copy of a Statue","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Oxford","id":"x31203"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Copy\r\n\r\n(probably made in)"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1850","earliest":"1845-01-01","latest":"1854-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Copy"},{"date":{"text":"ca. 1541","earliest":"1536-01-01","latest":"1545-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Original"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by the Trustees of the Crystal Palace","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Width","value":"49","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"base","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Cast of a statue made in plaster, probably in Oxford about 1850 and given by the Trustees of the Crystal Palace in 1938. The cast depicts St Mary Magdalen who was originaly carved in stone. The original was initially thought to be a figure from the chapel of Magdalen College in Oxford, however there is no original sculpture that corresponds to the cast, so the identity of the original is unknown.","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 statue about 1850 depicting St Mary Magdalen.","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Copy","id":"THES48865"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Mary Magdalen (Magdalene)","id":"N482"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"figures (representations)","id":"AAT189808"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Cast of\r\nUnknown artist\r\nSt Mary Magdalen\r\nAbout 1541\n\nThe Museum used to think that this cast was made from a figure in the chapel of Magdalen College (named after St Mary) in Oxford. However, there is no original sculpture in the chapel that corresponds to the cast, and so the identity of the original sculpture is a mystery.\n\nCast\r\nAbout 1850\r\nPainted plaster\r\nProbably made in Oxford\r\nGiven by the Trustees of Crystal Palace in 1938\r\nMuseum no. Repro.A.1938-21\n\nOriginal\r\nCarved stone\r\nLocation unknown","date":{"text":"04/07/2018","earliest":"2018-07-04","latest":"2018-07-04"}},{"text":"This figure was thought to have been a copy of a late gothic stone statue in Magdalen College, Oxford. Magdalen College was founded in 1458, and was named after St Mary Magdalen. The college chapel was restored in 1829-34 by the architect Lewis Nockalls Cottingham (1787-1847), who created an impressive collection of plaster casts in London; these subsequently became the Royal Architectural Museum. However the supposed provenance of this plaster must be mistaken, since Magdalen College does not possess a stone figure resembling this cast, which must presumably have been taken from another sculpture elsewhere. So far its actual origins remain undiscovered. The plaster came to the V&A from the Crystal Palace at Sydenham, after the disastrous fire there in 1936. The Crystal Palace housed a large collection of architectural and sculptural plaster casts, some of which survived and are now displayed at South Kensington.\r\n\r\nHolly Trusted","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["REPRO.A.1938-21"],"accessionNumberNum":"21","accessionNumberPrefix":"REPRO.A","accessionYear":1938,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-22","recordCreationDate":"2000-06-27","availableToBook":false}}