{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O70483"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O70483/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AV6725/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AV6725/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AV6725","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2012FM5657","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JU9879","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017JU9900","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O70483/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O70483","accessionNumber":"A.6-1943","objectType":"Statuette","titles":[{"title":"St George (previously known as St Michael)","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"This figure of St George was made in Seville, Spain, in the late fifteenth century or early sixteenth. The knightly, chivalric aspects of the figure typify the Gothic style in Spain, as does the richly decorated shield held by the saint. It was probably originally in the Dominican convent of Sta Florentina in Ecija (Seville).","physicalDescription":"Painted terracotta statuette depicting St. George (previously known as St. Michael).\r\n\r\nThe youthful saint is shown wearing armour under a cloak held by an elaborate clasp, trampling a dragon-like creature underfoot. The armour is probably Milanese, dating from about 1480. His shoulder-length hair is held by a band adorned with a fillet, decorated with a  rosette similar to the clasp holding his cloak. He leans towards his  right, and originally held a lance in his right hand, which entered the dragon at his feet, and with which he appeared to support himself; this is now missing, and has been since the figure was first published in 1884. On the shield, a cross standing on a crown of thorns surrounded by a vine is depicted in relief, imagery evoking the Passion of Christ. Previously described as <i>St. Michael</i>, the iconography suggests the more likely identification is <i>St. George</i>, primarily because the saint is without wings. Both St. George and the Archangel Michael may be shown  as young warrior-saints overcoming a dragon; sometimes the former is shown on horseback, or with the princess, and sometimes the latter is holding scales. Either one may be depicted (as here) standing unaccompanied, defeating the dragon with a lance. However, only exceptionally is Michael shown wingless. It has previously been argued that Pedro Millán portrays angels without wings, for example in his figure-group of <i>Christ as Man of Sorrows supported by angels</i>. This does not seem a sufficiently strong reason for calling this figure <i>St. Michael</i>. Neither is there any known early reference to the piece as <i>St. Michael</i> (it was first claimed as such only in 1884 by Gestoso, without any discussion), and for the reasons outlined above, it seems more likely that it represents St. George.\r\n\r\nAbove taken from: \r\n\r\nTrusted, Marjorie. <font u>Spanish Sculpture: catalogue of the post-medieval Spanish sculpture in wood, terractotta, alabaster, marble, stone, lead and jet in the Victoria & Albert Museum</font u>.( London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996), pp. 84-86","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Millán, Pedro","id":"A6650"},"association":{"text":"maker","id":"AAT251917"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"terracotta","id":"AAT10669"}],"techniques":[{"text":"painting","id":"x30598"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Painted terracotta","categories":[{"text":"Sculpture","id":"THES48896"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"SCP","id":"THES48600"},"images":["2006AV6725","2012FM5657","2017JU9879","2017JU9900"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"26 (VA)","id":"THES49836"},"free":"","case":"CA003","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Statuette","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Seville","id":"x32654"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 1487-1515","earliest":"1482-01-01","latest":"1515-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Presented by Art Fund","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"91","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"26","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"The work is signed in gothic lettering: 'põ millã' on the lower part of the shield.","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"Provenance: Said to come from the Dominican Convent of S. Florentina at (Seville) (see Hernández Díaz 1951, <i>loc.cit.</i> in bibliography for this entry); Don José de Irueta Goyena Collection, 1884-before 1923; 'Private Collection, Seville' (so described in von Loga 1923, <i>loc.cit.</i> in bibliography for this entry) (perhaps Irueta Goyena Collection) 1923-before 1927; whereabouts unknown 1927-1943 (Pijoan, <i>loc.cit</i> in bibliography for this entry (1927) says it 'has now been carried off to a foreign land'; Rafols, <i>loc.cit</i> in the bibliography for this entry (1942) described it as forming part of a North American collection); sold by P. Pelosi at Sotheby's, London, 16th April, 1943, lot 98; bought by Dr. H. Burg (£60); bought from Dr. Burg by the National Art-Collections Fund 1943 (£400) and presented by the Fund to the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1943.\r\n\r\nAbove taken from: Trusted, Marjorie. <font u>Spanish Sculpture: catalogue of the post-medieval Spanish sculpture in wood, terractotta, alabaster, marble, stone, lead and jet in the Victoria & Albert Museum</font u>.( London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996), pp. 84-86\n\nHistorical significance: Pedro Millán was one of the leading sculptors working in Seville around 1500, and the last exponent of the Spanish version of the late Gothic style inspired by Netherlandish sculpture.  He was active in Seville from 1487 (when a document refers to his  wife’s purchase of a house) to 1515, and was almost certainly native to the city. He appears to have specialised in terracotta, a material particularly favoured for sculpture in Seville, iexecuting parts of two of the portals of Seville Cathedral. This signed figure, from the convent of Santa Florentina de Ecija near Seville, is considered one of his finest surviving works, and is the only known work by Millán outside Spain.","historicalContext":"The work is signed in gothic lettering: 'põ millã' on the lower part of the shield. The same signature appears on other works by Pedro Millán: on the girdles of two seated monks near the jambs of the West Door of Seville Cathedral, and on the Virgin of the Pillar also in Seville Cathedral. Stylistically, the closest piece to the present one is the <i>Christ as Man of Sorrows supported by angel</i>s (referred to above) in the Museum of Fine Arts in Seville. This is also signed, though in a slightly different form: 'Põ Millán, ymaginero'. Both the figure of Christ and that of St. George appear to lean back to their right, while the features, hair and headdress of St. George strongly recall those of the two angels supporting the Christ figure. Although Gestoso dated the present figure to c.1480-86, Pérez-Embid rightly stated that adequate reasons were nor given for this. None of Millán's works is securely dated, and the present piece can only be put within his period of known activity (1487-1515).\r\n\r\nAbove taken from: Trusted, Marjorie. <font u>Spanish Sculpture: catalogue of the post-medieval Spanish sculpture in wood, terractotta, alabaster, marble, stone, lead and jet in the Victoria & Albert Museum</font u>.( London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996), pp. 84-86","briefDescription":"St George; Terracotta painted Spanish Pedro Millan 1487-1515","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Trusted, Marjorie. <font u>Spanish Sculpture: catalogue of the post-medieval Spanish sculpture in wood, terractotta, alabaster, marble, stone, lead and jet in the Victoria & Albert Museum</font u>.( London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996), pp. 84-86"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Gestoso y Pérez, J., <u>Ensayo de un diccionario de los artífices que florecieron en Sevilla desde el siglo XIII al XVIII inclusive</u>, I, Seville, 1899,  frontispiece, and pp. 48-57"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Dieulafoy, M., <u>La Statuaire Polychrome en Espagne</u>, (Paris, 1908), pl. LX and p. 150"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"von Loga, V., <u> Spanische Plastik</u> (Munich, 1923), pp. 14-15 and pl. 7"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Pijoan, J., <u>Historia del Arte . . .</u>, II, (Barcelona, 1915), p.448, Fig. 73"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"<u>Thieme-Becker Kunstler-lexikon</u>, XXIV, 1930, P. 561"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Yarza Luaces, J., <u>Los Reyes Católicos. Paisaje artístico de una monarquía</u>, Madrid, 1993, p. 304"},{"reference":{"text":"Ray, Anthony. <i>Spanish Pottery 1248-1898 : with a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum</i> London, V&A Publications, 2000","id":"AUTH354425"},"details":"p.359","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hernández Díaz, J.<u>Catálogo Arqueológico y artístico de la provincia de Sevilla</u>, III, Seville, 1951, p. 327, note 541"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Durán Sampere, Agustín and Ainaud de Lasarte, Juan <u>Ars hispaniae : historia universal del arte hispánico ; VIII, Escultura gótica</u> (Madrid : Plus Ultra, 1956), p. 368"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Gomez Moreno, Maria Elena, <u> Breve historia de la escultura española</u> (2nd ed.), (Madrid, 1951), p.62"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Pareja López y Megía Navarro, <u>Historia del Arte en Andalucía</u>, ( Sevilla, 1990), pp.359-60 and p.357, fig.332"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Ray, A. <u>Spanish Pottery 1248-1898.</u> London, 2000, p. 359"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Yarza Luaces, J. <u> Los Reyes Catolicos: Paisaje Artistico de Una Monarquia.</u> Madrid, 1993, p. 304."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"cf. St Michael, Museo Diocesano de Guipúzcoa, San Sebastián in <u>Damián Forment Escultor Renacentista Retable Mayor de la Catedral de Santo Domingo de la Calzada</u> Zaragoza, 1995, p. 26, fig. 14."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Boucher, B. ''War in Heaven': Saint Michael and the Devil'. <u>Old Masters at the Art Institute of Chicago</u> New Haven, 2006, pp. 28-9 and figs. 2, 3 on p. 26 and 27."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[{"text":"George (Saint)","id":"N7"}],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"This figure was probably originally a focus for the devotion in a Dominican convent in Seville. The saint once had a lance in his right hand to spear the dragon at his feet. On the shield, a cross standing on a crown of thorns surrounded by a vine evokes the Passion of Christ.\r\n\r\nSt George\r\nAbout 1500\r\nPedro Millán (active 1487–1515)\r\nThis figure was probably originally a focus for devotion\r\nin a Dominican convent in Seville. The saint once had\r\na lance in his right hand to spear the dragon at his feet.\r\nOn the shield, a cross standing on a crown of thorns\r\nsurrounded by a vine evokes the Passion of Christ.\r\nSpain, Seville\r\nPainted terracotta\r\nInscribed on the shield: ‘p[edr]o milla[n]’\r\nPresented by the Art Fund\r\nMuseum no. A.6-1943","date":{"text":"2010","earliest":"2010-01-01","latest":"2010-12-31"}},{"text":"St George\r\nAbout 1500\r\nPedro Millán (active 1487–1515)\r\nThis figure was probably originally a focus for devotion\r\nin a Dominican convent in Seville. The saint once had\r\na lance in his right hand to spear the dragon at his feet.\r\nOn the shield, a cross standing on a crown of thorns\r\nsurrounded by a vine evokes the Passion of Christ.\r\nSpain, Seville\r\nPainted terracotta\r\nInscribed on the shield: ‘p[edr]o milla[n]’\r\nPresented by the Art Fund\r\nMuseum no. A.6-1943","date":{"text":"26/10/2010","earliest":"2010-10-26","latest":"2010-10-26"}}],"partNumbers":["A.6-1943"],"accessionNumberNum":"6","accessionNumberPrefix":"A","accessionYear":1943,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2019LN8735","2019LU8857","2019LT8670"],"recordModificationDate":"2025-10-30","recordCreationDate":"2002-11-20","availableToBook":false}}