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A 19th-century plaster cast of Michelangelo's David, which shocked Queen Victoria when she received it as a gift 1856, is set to take centre stage in London.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has unveiled the Renaissance masterpiece which will be the centrepiece at the refurbished Italian Cast Court when the attraction reopens later this month.

After being gifted to the Queen by Leopold II, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, a detachable fig leaf was sculpted to shield David's manhood and avoid offence.

The Victoria and Albert Museum's sculpture conservator Johanna Puisto works on their giant plaster cast of the Statue of David

Puisto delicately works on the 19th-century cast ahead of the re-opening of The V&A's Italian Cast Court

The infamous fig leaf has since been permanently removed, but has become an iconic part of the museum's collection.

The V&A's sculpture conservator Johanna Puisto, is putting the finishing touches on the famous cast that so shocked Queen Victoria.

While a model of the original, Puisto says the statue should be viewed with the same reverence as its big brother in Florence.

'It's tempting to think of a cast of a sculpture as something of an inferior copy, but the V&A's plaster cast of probably the most famous sculpture in the world is much more than a simple reproduction of Michelangelo's original,' Puisto said.

'It is a work of art in its own right and a superb example of great craftsmanship and technical achievement.'

Created by Florentine cast-maker Clemente Papi in the 1850s, the South Kensington museum's five-metre tall David was made from a mould taken directly from the original that was carved from a giant marble block and now stands at the Gallery of the Academy of Florence.

The Italian Cast Court at South Kensington's V&A is re-opening on November 29 with Michelangelo's masterpiece at its heart

The cast court, now named the Weston Cast Court, features more than 60 of the V&A's most imposing figures

The cast of David was given to Queen Victoria as a gift by Leopold II, the Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1856

Puisto removes the protective sheet from David, one of the V&A Italian Cast Court's crowning glories

This version of David was among the first items brought into The V&A's current site in 1857 and was recently moved, delicately, to take pride of place in the cast court ahead of its re-launch on November 29.

The cast courts, now named the Weston Cast Court after long-time supporters The Garfield Weston Foundation, were constructed to showcase the V&A's most imposing figures.

When the doors open again they will feature more than 60 19th-century reproductions of iconic Italian Renaissance monuments, including the seven and a half metre-tall electrotype doors cast from the Gates of Paradise at Florence Cathedral, a cast of the pulpit from Pisa Cathedral by Giovanni Pisano and the monumental cast of Jacopo della Quercia's great arch from the Basilica of San Petronio, Bologna.