{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O41424"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O41424/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK4655/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006BK4655/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006BK4655","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2016JA0598","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2019MA8429","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2019MA8438","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O41424/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O41424","accessionNumber":"REPRO.A.1916-43","objectType":"Font","titles":[{"title":"Scenes from the Life of St Nicholas","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"The original font was carved in the Flemish marble quarry at Tournai in modern-day Belgium. It was then imported to England and placed in Winchester Cathedral. The original is one of a number of early carved fonts that survive from Tournai. Casts of fonts like this were made to show early examples of freestanding sculpture from Romanesque church interiors.","physicalDescription":"Plaster cast of a font with scenes from the Life of St. Nicholas.","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":"Architecture","id":"THES48993"},{"text":"Christianity","id":"THES48978"},{"text":"Sculpture","id":"THES48896"},{"text":"Plaster Cast","id":"THES270451"},{"text":"Cast Courts","id":"THES280650"},{"text":"Copies and Facsimiles","id":"THES253072"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SCP","id":"THES48600"},"images":["2006BK4655","2016JA0598","2019MA8429","2019MA8438"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"46A (VA)","id":"THES49799"},"free":"","case":"FS","shelf":"N","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Copy of a Font","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Winchester","id":"x32674"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Copy"},{"place":{"text":"Tournai","id":"x30946"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Original"}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1850-1900","earliest":"1845-01-01","latest":"1900-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Copy"},{"date":{"text":"1175-1200","earliest":"1175-01-01","latest":"1200-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Original"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by the Architectural Association","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"38","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Length","value":"101.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"101.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Cast of a font with scenes from the life of St Nicholas made in plaster about 1850-1900 and given by the Architectural Association in 1916. The original was made by an unknown artist in Tourai in 1175-1200 and then imported to England and placed in Winchester Cathedral.","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 font with scenes from the Life of St Nicholas probably cast in Winchester about 1850-1900. The original was made in 1175-1200.","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"Flemish (Tournai)","productionType":{"text":"Copy","id":"THES48865"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"Nicholas (Saint)","id":"N1548"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"fonts","id":"AAT80617"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"Cast of\r\nUnknown artist\r\nFont with Scenes from the Life of St Nicholas\r\n1175–1200\n\nThe original font was carved in the Flemish marble quarry at Tournai in modern-day Belgium. It was then imported to England and placed in Winchester Cathedral. The original is one of a number of early carved fonts that survive from Tournai. Casts of fonts like this were made to show early examples of freestanding sculpture from Romanesque church interiors.\n\nCast\r\nAbout 1850–1900\r\nPainted plaster\r\nProbably Winchester\r\nGiven by the Architectural Association in 1916\r\nMuseum no. Repro.A.1916-43\n\nOriginal\r\nPolished limestone (Tournai marble)\r\nWinchester Cathedral, Hampshire","date":{"text":"21/06/2018","earliest":"2018-06-21","latest":"2018-06-21"}}],"partNumbers":["REPRO.A.1916-43"],"accessionNumberNum":"43","accessionNumberPrefix":"REPRO.A","accessionYear":1916,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-04-22","recordCreationDate":"2000-07-10","availableToBook":false}}