A CARVED WHITE MARBLE GROUP OF LEDA AND THE SWAN

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NEO-CLASSICAL SCULPTURE FORMERLY IN THE LARDEREL COLLECTION (LOTS 170-177) Francesco Giacomo Larderel (1789-1858) was originally of French origin but moved to Italy and was a successful industrialist. In 1818, he founded a plant which extracted boric acid from the Lagoons of Montecerboli. He eventually employed large numbers of people in the area and was made Count of Montecerboli by the Grand Duke of Tuscany in recognition for his services to the local economy and, presumably, his own newly acquired wealth. Between 1832 and 1854, Larderel built a palace in Livorno where he housed a collection of art and curiosities. In a guide of 1894 it was written, 'the palace has a rich and beautiful private gallery. It consists of family portraits... a collection of ancient and modern paintings, statues, marble busts, trophies, weapons... ivory, enamel and bronze works, works by the della Robbia, vases, minerals, mummies, cabinets and other rare and precious objects.' The following eight lots were presumably part of the collection formed by Larderel in the 1820s, '30s and '40s. They were purchased by the vendor's family at a sale of works of art from the Palazzo Larderel in Livorno circa 1970.

A CARVED WHITE MARBLE GROUP OF LEDA AND THE SWAN

ITALIAN, CIRCA 1820-30

Details

A CARVED WHITE MARBLE GROUP OF LEDA AND THE SWAN
ITALIAN, CIRCA 1820-30
Leda depicted recumbent with her right arm around the swan; on an integrally carved plinth and a later painted oval wood pedestal with rotating upper platform.
Minor chips and losses.
90½ x 52 in. (90.2 x 132 cm.)
66 5/8 x 62 in. (169.2 x 157.5 cm.) overall

Provenance

Almost certainly Francesco Giacomo Larderel, Count of Montecerboli (1789-1858).
Purchased by the family of the vendor at a sale of works of art from the Palazzo Larderel, Livorno, circa 1970.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

According to Greek mythology, Leda was the wife of Tyndareus, King of Sparta. Jupiter, attracted by her great beauty, came to her in the guise of a swan as she lay by the river. Their union resulted in the birth of the twins Castor and Pollux, Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra.

The subject was a popular one from the renaissance onwards, not least because of the opportunity it gave artists for the erotic depiction of the female nude. The present marble group is more chaste in its portrayal of the scene, although the sculptor has obviously delighted in creating an image of ideal female beauty.

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