Francesco FanelliItalian, 1577King Charles I
Can I see it?
Yes, on view now
Where is “King Charles I” now? Victoria and Albert Museum, British Galleries, Room 56, The Djanogly Gallery, London. Yes, on view now. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
RoomBritish Galleries, Room 56, The Djanogly Gallery
Open now· until 5:45 PM
On public display.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
Object Type
Portrait busts on this tiny scale are extremely rare. They resemble the small-scale bronze busts of Christ, and occasionally of individuals, produced in 17th-century Italy.
People
The Florence-born sculptor Francesco Fanelli arrived in England from Genoa in the early 1630s. By 1635 he was employed by Charles I and in 1640 he signed himself as Sculptor to the King of Great Britain. However, Fanelli's role as royal sculptor is unclear as no records of large-scale commissions for the King survive. Although Fanelli was said to have 'livd and dyd in England', his exact fate is uncertain.
Subject Depicted
Read on
The fanciful armour of the king is decorated with beautifully modelled but lively reliefs of a unicorn, a lion and two marine deities. These are closely related in style to other reliefs by the artist and may possibly have symbolic meaning, as well as being decorative. The unicorn, for example, was associated with purity and the lion with strength, power and kingship.
Ownership & Use
This intimate object was probably commissioned by the King himself, and may derive from a wax sketch model for a life-sized bust.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- A.3-1999
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
