presentation shield of sheet steel with electroplated silver inserts, 87 cm by 65 cm, signed and dated 1866.
Leonard Morel-Ladeuil (1820 -1888), French sculptor and goldsmith, was a master of the repoussé technique. He collaborated for decades with the British silver manufacturers Elkington & Co. . 1866 he designed one of his masterworks for the Parisian world exhibition of 1867, the "Milton Shield". The epic poem "Paradise Lost" by the London poet John Milton (1608 - 1674) was the inspiration for this work. The different panels show archangel Raphael with Adam and Eve, Luzifer's demise from heaven and other scenes despribed in the epos. The main body of the shield from sheet iron is made in repoussé and decorated with numerous religious symbols, the electroplated silver panels are fixed with screws from the rear and surrounded by gold-washed ornaments. The art world of 1867 celebrated the original as the most important exhibit of the whole exhibition, it was acquired by the London V&A museum where it is still exhibited today. The specimen on offer is one of the official copies, signed "Department of Science & Art, Elkington" beneath the seal of Queen Victoria, condition III.

Category: Art