{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O40939"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O40939/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK4557/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK4557/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006BK4557","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O40939/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O40939","accessionNumber":"REPRO.1873-561","objectType":"Choir Screen","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"This is a cast of an object which itself was made from a form of plaster – stucco. A number of stucco choir-screens were erected inside churches in Saxony around 1200. The area was already known for the skill of its metalworkers, and it may be that a metal casting workshop produced the screen, as plaster moulds are integral to the process of metal casting. The screen depicts saints and the Virgin and Child alongside Bishop Bernward, the founder of the church.\r\n","physicalDescription":"Plaster cast of part of a choir screen depicting showing figures of (from the left) St. Benedict, St. James, St. Peter, the Virgin and Child, St. Paul, St. John and Bishop Bernward, in the Church of St. Michael, Hildesheim.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Friedrich Küsthardt","id":"AUTH348998"},"association":{"text":"caster","id":"AAT25257"},"note":"Copy"}],"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":"Architecture","id":"THES48993"},{"text":"Sculpture","id":"THES48896"},{"text":"Plaster Cast","id":"THES270451"},{"text":"Cast Courts","id":"THES280650"},{"text":"Architectural fittings","id":"THES48994"},{"text":"Copies and Facsimiles","id":"THES253072"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SCP","id":"THES48600"},"images":["2006BK4557"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"46A (VA)","id":"THES49799"},"free":"","case":"FS","shelf":"N","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Copy of Part of a Choir Screen","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Hildesheim","id":"x32623"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Copy"},{"place":{"text":"Germany","id":"x28873"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Original"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1873","earliest":"1868-01-01","latest":"1877-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Copy"},{"date":{"text":"1194-97","earliest":"1194-01-01","latest":"1197-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Original\r\n\r\n(probably)"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"320.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"793","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Plaster cast of part of a choir screen depicting saints and the Virgin and Child alongside Bishop Bernward, the founder of the church, which was made by Friedrich Küsthardt in Hildesheim about 1873, and purchased from F. Künsthardt in 1873 for £162 10s. The original was made from stucco by an unknown artist in Germany probably in 1194-97 for the west choir in the church of St Michael, Hildesheim.","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 part of a choir screen that depicts Saints and the Virgin and Child alongside Bishop Bernward made by Friedrich Küsthardt in Hildesheim about 1873. The original was probably made in 1194-97.","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Copy","id":"THES48865"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Benedict (Saint)","id":"N505"},{"text":"James (Saint, the Greater)","id":"N446"},{"text":"Peter (Saint)","id":"N400"},{"text":"Paul (Saint)","id":"N401"},{"text":"John (Saint John the Evangelist)","id":"N103"},{"text":"The Virgin Mary","id":"N480"},{"text":"Jesus Christ","id":"N1515"},{"text":"Bernward (Bishop of Hildesheim)","id":"N5137"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"choir screens","id":"AAT78129"},{"text":"figures (representations)","id":"AAT189808"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Cast of\r\nUnknown artist\r\nPart of a Choir-screen\r\nProbably 1194–97\r\n\r\nThis is a cast of an object which itself was made from a form of plaster – stucco. A number of stucco choir-screens were erected inside churches in Saxony around 1200. The area was already known for the skill of its metalworkers, and it may be that a metal casting workshop produced the screen, as plaster moulds are integral to the process of metal casting. The screen depicts saints and the Virgin and Child alongside Bishop Bernward, the founder of the church.\n\nCast\r\nFriedrich Küsthardt\r\nAbout 1873\r\nPainted plaster\r\nHildesheim, Germany\r\nMuseum no. Repro.1873-561\n\nOriginal\r\nStucco\r\nGermany\r\nSt Michael, Hildesheim\r\n(in the west choir)\r\nConservation supported\r\nby Idlewild Trust","date":{"text":"21/06/2018","earliest":"2018-06-21","latest":"2018-06-21"}},{"text":"In 1873, the Museum acquired a number of plaster casts of key sculptural decorations in the cathedral of Hildesheim, all produced by the Hildesheim sculptor Friedrich Küsthardt.  Unlike most of the other objects in the Museum's plaster collection, this cast replicates an object which itself was made from a form of plaster: stucco. In the years around 1200, a number of stucco choir screens were erected inside churches in Saxony. Saxony was known for the skill of its metalworkers, and it may be that a workshop primarily engaged in casting was involved in the production of these furnishings. The original screen would have been brightly painted, although most of this is lost on the original and is not duplicated here.\r\n\r\nGlyn Davies","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null}}],"partNumbers":["REPRO.1873-561"],"accessionNumberNum":"561","accessionNumberPrefix":"REPRO","accessionYear":1873,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2025PF8290","2025PF8102"],"recordModificationDate":"2026-04-24","recordCreationDate":"2000-06-27","availableToBook":false}}