CAST AFTER A 16TH CENTURY PADUAN MODEL, PROBABLY 17TH CENTURY AND REGILT

Decorated with cast grotesque masks, embricated surface and acanthus leaf details, these candlesticks relate closely to the works of such sculptors as Desiderio da Firenze and Andrea Briscio, called Riccio, both of whom were active in Padua in the mid-16th century. This model is thought to have originated at around that time and clearly reflects the current favored decorative vocabulary and design. Other casts of this model are well known, though variations to the cast detail exist. Another pair of candlesticks of the same design but without the imbricated lower flared lip of the base are in the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Berlin (K. Pechstein, Bronzen und Plaketten, Berlin, 1968, no. 79). Another cast is found in the Louvre, Paris (illus. L. Planiscig, Piccoli Bronzi Italiani del Rinascimento, Milan, 1930, plate XCIV, no. 160).