Plaster cast of Venus

Made:
1790-1819 in Handsworth
maker:
James Watt
Plastic cast, Venus, oval 2 3/8 x 1 3/4''

Creative Commons LicenseThis image is released under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 Licence

Plastic cast, Venus, oval 2 3/8 x 1 3/4''
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Musuem

Plaster cast, Venus, oval 2 3/8" x 1 3/4"

This item is part of the sculpture collection built by Scottish engineer James Watt, and which was kept for a long time in his garret workshop at his home, Heathfield, in Handsworth, Birmingham. The two most prominent objects in the workshop are a pair of sculpture copying machines dating to 1804-1809, one for producing reduced-sized and the other for equal-size copies. Building and using them was the main project that Watt undertook in the workshop. However, they built on his interest in sculpture which stretched back into the 1790s. Watt purchased items and then multiplied them in the workshop, making copies with his machines in different materials as well as taking casts using plaster. This item seems likely to have been cast by Watt from a mould supplied by John Pierotti. The project was a fitting end to Watt’s career, continuing his interest in precision manufacture and multiplying images of himself, his associates and many other subjects in a way which combined art and industry, precision manufacture and often inspiration from antiquity.

Details

Category:
James Watt's Garret Workshop
Object Number:
1926-1075/221
Materials:
plaster
type:
plaster cast
credit:
Major J.M. Gibson-Watt