Reproduction of South Portal of Saint-Pierre, Moissac

Interlacing lions on the trumeau of the portal; In the late Victorian era, plaster casts of outstanding world artworks were produced by various vendors for museums (and world's fairs), spurred by an initiative of Prince Albert in Great Britain. Just a few museums, like the V&A and the Musée national des Monuments Français (Galerie des Moulages) went to extraordinary lengths to develop their own large, unique casts. The present cast collection (in what was the Palais du Trocadéro), was proposed by Viollet-le-Duc in 1879, which is the year this cast was made. It is a cast of the south portal of the former Benedictine abbey (Eglise abbatiale Saint-Pierre) in Moissac, Tarn-et-Garonne department, southwestern France. The giant tympanum, over 6 m wide, represents a theophanic vision, the iconographic source of which has been disputed. Christ, enthroned and wearing a crown, is surrounded by the four living creatures and the twenty-four Elders described in Revelation 4; they carry cups and musical instruments as in Revelation 5. There are also relief panels on the walls flanking the portal. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com