Oxford breaks the mould with new plaster casts conference
26 Sep 07
An Oxford conference looking at the long-standing practice of making cast copies of sculpture has brought together leading international academics in art, archaeology and history with conservation and museum display experts. Plaster Casts: Making, collecting and displaying from classical antiquity to the present, is being held at the University’s Ioannou School for Classical and Byzantine Studies from 23-27 September.
Casts are common in museums throughout the world; they are a distinctive art form and are sometimes more valuable than the originals. Casting is a practice dating from Roman times when copies of Greek sculptures were made.
The conference has drawn on some of the world’s leading experts on plaster casts from 12 countries, including Germany, Italy, Mexico and the US. Some speakers are discussing the history of cast collections, such as those of the European nobility from the 16th to 18th centuries and the uses of cast in display by artists such as Rembrandt. Other speakers are exploring conservation techniques including the latest laser-cleaning methods. The political aspects of casts are also being examined, such as the role of casts in ideology at Padua in Italy during the 20th century. Other speakers have examined how casts are displayed in modern times, not only in museums but also increasingly, online. The conference delegates visited Anyhoe House, formerly the home of the 18th century art collector, Sir John Soane. It now belongs to property restorer James Perkins, who is reviving the ‘country house’ tradition of displaying casts.
Donna Kurtz, Professor of Classical Archaeology and joint organiser of the conference, said: ‘Plaster casts play a vital role in modern museum collections, and are an important art form in their own right. This conference is a unique opportunity to bring the leading experts together to investigate the role of plaster casts across the world since Classical times.’
The conference is supported by Worcester College and the History and Classics Faculties. It has been jointly organised by Dr Rune Frederiskon of the Cast Gallery at the Ashmolean Museum, Professor Donna Kurtz of the Beazley Archive and Dr Eckart Marchand of the University of Reading. Further information can be found at www.plastercasts.org/index.htm
Picture: Cast of the Borghese Gladiator held in the Ashmolean Museum Cast Gallery in Oxford. Credit: Beazley Archive.