A BRONZE PLAQUETTE OF THE TRIAL OF MUCIUS SCAEVOLA

Details
A BRONZE PLAQUETTE OF THE TRIAL OF MUCIUS SCAEVOLA
AFTER GIOVANNI FONDULI OF CREMA

Shield shaped and signed 'IO.F.F.'
Golden brown patina with traces of black lacquer; drill hole at top for suspension
2in. (5.8cm.) high

Lot Essay

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
J. Pope-Hennessy, Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, London, 1965, no. 101, p. 34, fig. 132
C. Fulton, 'The Master IOF.F. and the Function of Plaquettes', in Italian Plaquettes' (ed. A. Luchs), in Studies in the History of Art, vol. 22, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. 1989, p. 146, fig. 4, cat. no. I, 6

The unusual shape is designed to fit the pommel of the hilt of a sword. For the identity of the master signing I.O.F.F. see T. de Gregory, 'Giovanni da Crema and his seated Goddess,' in Burlington Magazine, 1950, p. 159.