Lot 117
A MILTON SHIELD
ELKINGTON & CO., SIGNED MOREL LADEUIL FECIT 1866
Auction: Day One | Wed 24th Sept at 10am | Lots 1 to 425
Description
a copper electrotype coated with oxidised silver, of slightly convex oval form with roped border, the central circular panel depicting Adam and Eve addressed by the archangel Raphael, framed on either side with ovoidal panels depicting subjects from Milton's 'Paradise Lost', sixth book, the hosts of Heaven attacking the rebels who are driven out and fall to perdition, St. Michael waving his flaming sword over the dragon who appears in human form, Sin and Death appearing either side at the base, the border with Zodiac signs symbolising the rolling years and flight of Time, the upper part of the shield depicting angels and seraphs soaring high above the stife below flanking the emblem of all Light and Life and encircled by winged cherub's heads, the interior with applied oval plaque of the Victoria & Albert Department of Science & Arts. Footnote - the original of the shield was manufactured for the 1867 Paris Exhibition of which Messrs. Elkington were awarded a gold medal. the shield and medal and now in the Victoria & Albert Museum. made originally by Morel Ladeuil, a pupil of the renowned French craftsman Antoine Vechte, Elkington manufactured a large number of electrotypes that were made for sale at the South Kensington (later Victoria & Albert) Museum. For more information see Patricia Wardle, Victorian Silver and Silver-Plate, 1963, pp. 149, 150 and 172
Dimensions
85.5cm high