Print preview Close

Showing 479 results

Archival description
Portraits
Print preview View:

369 results with digital objects Show results with digital objects

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

Bust of young man in armour

Plaster bust of a young man in armour after a terracotta original from the 15th century sculpted by Antonio Pollaiuolo and held in the Bargello Museum, Florence.

J Giusti & Co

Plaster cast of Medici Venus

  • PC/196
  • Item
  • Mid 19th century-early 20th century
  • Part of Plaster Casts

Venus with missing arm, supported by dolphin and cherub. Original: Roman copy of Greek statue c2 BC, of Hellenistic style. Listed in the first catalogue of casts as Greek, located in the 'Florence Gallery' and was purchased from D. Brucciani.

*Not available / given

Plaster cast of Mater Dolorosa

  • PC/052
  • Item
  • Mid 19th century-early 20th century
  • Part of Plaster Casts

Mater Dolorosa (Latin) refers to the Virgin Mary in relation to the sorrows in her life.

*Not available / given

Plaster cast of Archer of the Royal Guard

  • PC/055
  • Item
  • Mid 19th century-early 20th century
  • Part of Plaster Casts

Brickwork sculpture of Persian Royal bodyguard carrying quiver on back. Original: Persian glazed frieze from the Palace of Darius I in Susa, 521-486 BC. Original currently in the collection of the Pergamon Museum, Berlin, Germany.

*Not available / given

Plaster cast of Hermes of Praxiteles (Hermes and the Infant Dionysus)

  • PC/012
  • Item
  • Mid 19th century-early 20th century
  • Part of Plaster Casts

Original: Greek sculpture of Hermes and the infant Dionysus discovered in 1877 in the ruins of the Temple of Hera at Olympia. It is traditionally attributed to Praxiteles and dated to the 4th century BC. 3/4 size sculpture. Original currently in the collection of the Archaeological Museum of Olympia, Greece.

Plaster cast of Mercury

  • PC/014
  • Item
  • Mid 19th century-early 20th century
  • Part of Plaster Casts

Original: Greco-Roman attribution, shows Mercury God of merchandise and merchants, commonly identified with the Greek Hermes, fleet-footed messenger of the gods.

This item was damaged in the fire in the Mackintosh Building on 23rd May 2014. It underwent conservation and consolidation work in 2016.

Plaster cast of King

  • PC/032A
  • Item
  • Mid 19th century-early 20th century
  • Part of Plaster Casts

Plaster cast copies of sculptures from the church of Notre-Dame de Corbeil, Essonne, France. The original sculptures were previously displayed in the Musée des Monuments as King Clovis I of the Franks (465 - 511) and his wife Queen Clotilde (474 – 545). However, they are now housed in the Louvre where they are catalogued as possibly the Old Testament monarchs, King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Plaster cast of Queen

  • PC/032B
  • Item
  • Mid 19th century-early 20th century
  • Part of Plaster Casts

Plaster cast copies of sculptures from the church of Notre-Dame de Corbeil, Essonne, France. The original sculptures were previously displayed in the Musée des Monuments as King Clovis I of the Franks (465 - 511) and his wife Queen Clotilde (474 – 545). However, they are now housed in the Louvre where they are catalogued as possibly the Old Testament monarchs, King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.

Plaster cast of tondo portrait of Andrea Mantegna

  • PC/066
  • Item
  • Mid 19th century-early 20th century
  • Part of Plaster Casts

Original: Gian Marco Cavalli, c1490. Marble and bronze. Original currently in the Mantegna Chapel, Basilica di Sant’Andrea, Mantua, Italy. Bears a "Musée de Sculpture Comparée du Trocadero, Paris, 1910 " maker's stamp.

Musée de Sculpture Comparée du Trocadero, Paris

Results 1 to 50 of 479