Electroformed Copper, Silver and Gold Plated Shield, Depicting Scene 'Paradise Lost' Movel Ladewil for Ellington and Co.1866

An exceptional decorative oval shield crafted in electroformed copper with silver and gold plating. The surface is richly worked in extraordinarily detailed high relief with scenes from Milton’s Paradise Lost. At the centre, the principal figures are rendered with remarkable naturalism, surrounded by cascading mythological imagery of great depth and complexity. A rope-twist border frames the composition, which is mounted on a shaped wooden backboard. Produced by Morel Ladeuil for the celebrated Birmingham silversmiths Elkington & Co., the shield is a tour de force of Victorian electroforming, a technique in which the firm were true pioneers. Both sculptural and highly decorative, it represents a work of considerable artistic and historical importance.