Lot Essay
Among several casts that are known of this composition, the best known is the example in the Bayerisches National Museum (for a discussion of the latter bronze and a list of the other examples see Berlin, loc. cit.). Although differences of opinion concerning the artistic origins of the model have existed - including an attempted attribution to Willem Danielsz van Tetrode (d.1580) - it is generally thought to be an invention of the first half of the 17th century. The finely finished details of the present cast suggest a slightly later dating - to the late 17th or even 18th century - thereby attesting to the popularity of the model.