Joseph NollekensEnglish, 1737–1823Juno Pronuba
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Juno Pronuba” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Stylistic comparisons of the rough surface treatment of this terracotta suggests the artist executed it in Rome, where he worked with the sculptor Bartolomeo Cavaceppi (1716?-1799). It may have been inspired by an ancient Roman sculpture of a marriage ceremony. Juno Pronuba means Juno who arranges marriages.
Read on
Nollekens was a prolific sculptor of portrait busts and operated a thriving workshop in London. He spent eight years in Rome from 1762 to 1770, where he worked with Bartolomeo Cavaceppi restoring and copying antique marbles. One of these copies, his group of Castor and Pollux, is in the Museum's collection (Museum no. A.59-1940). He probably perfected his modelling of clay while he was in Rome and started to experiment in making small figures or groups. These occasionally became models for large-scale finished marbles, but many, like this one, still in his studio at his death, were simply studies in their own right, which he called pensieri (thoughts).
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- A.10-1944
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
In the life of Joseph Nollekens
The whole life1761–1770
Travel: Italy
1761–1770 · Workplace
Rome
1770 · Workplace
Paris
