Reproduction of a Scythian plaque with animal combat

Electrotyping is a chemical process used historically to make high quality reproductions of works of art. During the Victorian era, one of the main producers was Elkington & Co. of Birmingham. They were licensed by the South Kensington Museum of London (now the Victoria & Albert Museum) to produce replicas of objects from the royal treasuries and museums in Europe. The electrotypes approved by the Department of Science & Art, a British governmental agency, carry Messrs. Elkington’s mark in the form of an official stamp in metal.

This modern electrotype is a copy of a gold plaque in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. The original was part of the Siberian collection of Peter the Great of Russia (r. 1682-1725), who commissioned the first Russian archaeological excavations. The Siberian Collection of Peter the Great contains gold artefacts from the Scythian and Sarmatian nomadic cultures of Eurasia. This ornament corresponds to the left side of a pair of symmetrical belt buckles depicting a combat between a tiger and a horned monster. The complex representation of the fantastic beast is characteristic of later “animal style” art in which animal contests are one of the most popular motifs.

In the nineteenth century, many museums collected copies of ancient and historical works of art with the aim of presenting outstanding works to a broader public and to serve as inspiration for artists and manufacturers. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, founded in 1870, began to acquire electrotypes in its first decade. In 1883, Henry Marquand, a collector and early patron of the Museum, funded a large purchase from Elkington & Co. of nearly three hundred pieces. Today, these works are part of many departments in the Museum and along with plaster casts reflect the history of collecting and the role of the museum as a locus for the teaching of art history.