The Entombment, plaquette
designed (c. 1490); cast (early 16th century)
Medium
gilt-bronze
Measurements
9.9 × 6.7 × 0.4 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Bequest of Howard Spensley, 1939
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Plaquettes are small plaques made of bronze, brass, lead or precious metals. They originated in Italy in the 1440s with the desire to reproduce coins and hardstone engravings from ancient Greece and Rome. While some were made as collector’s pieces, to be viewed and displayed in private, others were made for practical purposes. These objects, produced in quantities, are often incomplete in themselves, as they were applied or mounted on items of household furniture, such as inkstands, lamps or caskets. They were also sometimes used as items of personal adornment on decorate clothing or accessories, or served as devotional images.