Virgin and Child

This version of a relief of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child in the style of the mid-15th-century Italian sculptor Desiderio da Settignano was awarded a prize of £10 in the Society of Arts Art-Workmanship Competition of 1867. It is signed by H. C. Hatfield Senior, who was praised in a Competition report for his skillful chasing, the modelling or patterning of metal surfaces. No information has been found on Hatfield. He may have been a member of the Hatfield's firm of bronze workers active from the 1840s, founded by John Ayres Hatfield. The original renaissance relief on which this version is based had been acquired by the Museum in 1866 (inv. no. 66-1866). Two other bronze versions of the renaissance original were acquired by the Museum in this same year, 1868, both likewise prize-winners in the Society of Arts Art-Workmanship competition, one by Thomas Nichols (inv. no. 857-1868), and the other by S. Beresford (inv. no. 856-1868).