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London, England Sculpture
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Plaster cast of spandrel

  • PC/152
  • Item
  • Mid 19th century-early 20th century
  • Part of Plaster Casts

Original: Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey, London, UK.

*Not available / given

The Giusti Plaster Cast Collection

  • GST
  • Collection
  • Late 19th century-mid 20th century

Collection of items related to the Glasgow based firm J. Giusti & Co. which specialized in the production of plaster figures, mould making, statuary repair, and other plaster work. The collection is primarily composed of plaster busts and portraits, six moulds, and two medals. The casts and moulds are formed after a range of sculptural styles including ancient Greek and Roman, French Gothic, Italian Renaissance, and 19th century anatomical studies.

The Giusti Plaster Cast Collection highlights mould making and casting processes that were used to produce objects for retail and to repair existing plaster casts. Records from The Glasgow School of Art document purchases and repairs from J. Giusti & Co. from as early as 1890, and casts related to those in the collection were widely used as teaching and learning tools at the GSA through at least mid-20th century.

As most of the items in the collection were used in commercial casting processes, very few items have a plain white, white washed, or decoratively painted surface that are often observed in plaster cast collections. Many of the plaster casts and all of the plaster moulds are widely covered with uneven layers of shellac that appear yellow, red, or brown. Shellac was applied as a sealant and resist agent to prevent existing plaster elements from sticking to fresh plaster elements during the casting process.

In addition to the plaster casts and plaster moulds, several items provide further insights into the material processes employed by J. Giusti & Co. Two medals (likely bronze) showcase the company's involvement with mould making for metal casting, and a gelatine mould is a surviving example of a traditional process used to produce detailed casts in small quantities.

Proudfoot, Alexander

Photographs

A collection of photographs and negatives taken by George Oliver dating from 1948-1990 (apart from two dated c1897). George arranged his photographs into folders by approximate subject matter and gave each folder a title. This has been reflected in the catalogue with the folder titles in the catalogue being the exact titles George used. The folders have been arranged by subject matter where possible. There are exceptions to the above. Folders DC 066/2/20 and DC 066/2/86 have not been given a title by George and have been catalogued as 'Untitled'. There are exceptions to this with DC 066/2/78 containing photographs taken by Cordelia Oliver as they date from after George's death. As a result of the Mackintosh Building fire in 2014, folders DC 066/2/87, DC 066/2/88 and DC 066/2/89 contain photographs that have been rehoused since their deposit and are likely to have been taken out of other folders. It is not clear from which folders these photographs came originally, so they have been catalogued separately with their titles reflecting the subject matter of the photographs they contain.

Oliver, George