Dome

Frontal overall view; The original doorway is by an unknown Norse sculptor, late 11th or early 12th century, in pinewood, from the wooden Church of Flaa, now in the Kunstindustriemuseet, Oslo, Norway. Casts were sometimes commissioned directly from the formatore (an Italian term used to describe the specialist Italian mould- and cast-makers). Domenico Brucciani was one such formatore who had special links with both the British Museum and the South Kensington Museum. Born in Lucca in 1815, he set up business in London, establishing a Gallery of Casts in Covent Garden by 1837. Source: V&A (Victoria and Albert Museum) [website]; http://www.vam.ac.uk/ (accessed 4/27/2009)