This plaster cast was made after the original in the Museo Nazionale (Bargello) in Florence made by Andrea della Robbia in the 15th century. The cast was made by the company Messrs Franchi & Son in London in about 1867.

Plaster casts were especially sought after during the 19th century, when reproductions of great works of sculpture and architecture were thought crucial for the training of artists. A separating substance was applied to the surface of the work to be reproduced, and a plaster mould made from that. The mould would then be used to make any number of additional plaster copies. These were often sold to artists, and later in the century to art colleges for study purposes.

The della Robbia dynasty of artists produced a great many marble and terracotta works in the 15th century. Their sculptures of children were especially popular in Victorian England. This bust may represent the youthful Christ and may once have had a pendant figure of the young St John the Baptist similar to the companion figure of a child. Plaster cast of a glazed terracotta bust of a child, ascribed to Andrea della Robbia, second half of the 15th century, in the Museo Nazionale (Bargello), Florence, cast by Messrs Franchi & Son, London, ca.1867. 

Gallery location:
Cast Courts, Room 46b, The Weston Cast Court , case FS, shelf N

Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London