sulphur cast
- Museum number
- B,6.1
- Description
-
The coronation of the Virgin
Sulphur cast
- Production date
- 1450-1475 (c.)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 129 millimetres (inner border, c.)
-
Width: 85 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- The original plate by Maso Finiguerra belonged to the Baptistery of S. Giovanni and is now in the Bargello, Florence. A paper impression was discovered by Zani in the Bibliothèque Royale in Paris, and forms the subject of Denon's plate of Zani making his discovery. Seratti wrote an article on this sulphur which was published by Zani in his 'Materiali per servire alla storia dell'origine e de'progressi dell'incisione in rame e i legno', Parma 1802, pp.215-21. This was translated by W.Y.Ottley in his 'Enquiry into the origin and early history of engraving', London 1816, pp.270-8. A second sulphur cast belonged to Count Durazzo, and is now in the Rothschild collection in the Louvre.
Literature: Ad Stijnman, 'Engraving and Etching: A History of the Development of Manual Intaglio Printmaking Processes', London, 2012, pp.40-41, fig.37.
- Location
- Not on display
- Acquisition date
- 1835
- Acquisition notes
- See Antony Griffiths, 'Landmarks in Print Collecting', London, 1996, p.93. Seratti bought the sulphur from 'a painter who had purchased it with a heap of of other trinkets at the stall of a petty dealer in Florence'. (for a long account by J.Stewart of the fate of Seratti and his collection, and how he acquired the sulphur in Malta, and sold it to Colnaghi for £150, see J.T.Smith 'A book for a rainy day', 1829, pp.309-12). It was sold before the auction of the main Seratti collection in 1816 by Stewart to Colnaghi. Colnaghi sold it to Thomas Grenville, the book collector, who passed it on to his nephew, the Duke of Buckingham, as more appropriate for a print collector (see Dibdin's 'Reminscences' II 1836, p.611). It was not in the Buckingham sale in 1834, but was purchased by the BM directly in July 1835 for £270 (see the offer in the letter from William James Smith on behalf of the Duke dated 6 July 1835 [now bound with Ottley's report to the Trustees dated 9 July strongly recommending the purchase], stating that this was the price for which he himself had purchased it in 1818 from Mr Grenville).
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- B,6.1
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: B,6
