PADUAN, FIRST HALF 16TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE INKWELL
PADUAN, FIRST HALF 16TH CENTURY
In the form of a bronze equestrian group of Marcus Aurelius on a circular bronze base; with a seashell to one side and on three ball feet; the underside inscribed in red with a collection number '240' and with the remains of a circular gold label indistinctly inscribed 'ANTIQUE DEALERS' ASSOCIATION'; the emperor formerly holding a candlestick nozzle, now lacking; warm chocolate brown patina with traces of a darker surface
7 7/8 in. (20 cm.) high

Provenance

Purchased by Alfred Beit (1853-1906) by 1904.
Thence by descent to Lady (Clementine) Beit (1915-2005) by whom donated to the Alfred Beit Foundation in 2005.

Literature

W. Bode, The Art Collection of Mr. Alfred Beit at His Residence 26 Park Lane London, Berlin, 1904, as 'School of Riccio'.
W. Bode, Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures and Bronzes in the Possession of Mr. Otto Beit, London, 1913, p. 111, no. 240, as 'Unknown Paduan artist'.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
Frankfurt, Liebieghaus Museum alter Plastik, Natur und Antike in der Renaissance, 5 Dec. 1985 - 2 Mar. 1986, p. 356, nos. 55 and 56.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

This small bronze would originally have served to provide both ink and light for its renaissance owner. The little shell - cast from life - served as the ink pot, and the figure would originally have held a candle nozzle in his left hand. It would have provided a testament to the owner's erudition by making reference to antiquity through the equestrian portrait of the emperor Marcus Aurelius on horseback. This was derived from one of the most famous of all antique models, the over life-size bronze on the Capitoline Hill in Rome, which was saved from destruction during the Middle Ages because it was mistakenly thought to represent Constantine, the first Roman emperor to recognise Chrtistianity officially.

This bronze belongs to a group of similar domestic objects which have been attributed both to Riccio and Severo da Ravenna, although it is likely that their production was widespread. A closely comparable example was included in the celebrated von Hirsch sale (Sotheby's, London, 22 June, 1978, lot 335), and two variant examples were included in the exhibition of bronzes Natur und Antike in Frankfurt (loc. cit.) in 1985-86.

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