Composition Mould

MediumPine

DimensionsImpression overall (top of head to bottom of flower) 12 5/8" (H) x 7 3/8" (W) (horn to horn) x 1 3/4" (D) at forehead. Overall resin piece: 14" (L) x 9: (W) x 2 1/4" (T).

Credit LineGift of Mr. & Mrs. Elias Nassim

Object numberAF-X2023.2329

DescriptionIt is an aegicrane, ram or goat head, with swag off each horn and a bell flower drop hanging off the chin. The impression is forward facing. Wooden support pieces were set into a mold before the resin was poured into the depression. The images were then impressed into the resin. It is badly charred on the lower end near the bellflower and at one corner and on the back. The ram has double-scroll horns with impressed ridges separated by tufted hair on the forehead. The long nose has impressed hair ridges separating two slanted eyes with pronounced pupils. The center of each scrolled horn has a fabric knot from which hangs a fringed fabric drop. A pleated swag connects the fabric drops below the nose of the face. At the center line of the swag is a large, single, veined bellflower connected by a bead at the end of the stem. The end of the positive left drop and left end of the bellflower are damaged.Label TextThis antique composition mould represents a trade that was practiced in Virginia during the Revolutionary period and into the 19th century. It depicts a common design found in upper class homes and public buildings. Composition was a substitute for more laboriously produced ornamental plaster and carved wood and stone.

It is thought that the Adam brothers (Robert Adam 1728-1792) and John Adam (1721-1792)) played a major role in the initial manufacture of composition ornament on a grand scale. The Adam style demanded a large amount of delicate low-relief ornament. These moulds are for the production of such ornament in plaster, or in composition, usually a combination of whiting, glue, rosin and oil. The finished ornament was used on furniture and other objects as well as in the decoration of rooms.