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Lot Essay
Porphyry, admired for its extreme durability and the depth of its colour, was extensively mined in antiquity from hills in eastern Egypt. Its association with the imperial family and the colour 'imperial purple' meant that any object made from this precious material immediately evoked images of power and luxury.
With the disintegration of the Roman Empire the widespread exploitation of porphyry also fell into decline, and it was not until the 16th century that there was again an increased interest in it use. In Florence, the Medici Dukes and Grand Dukes promoted the production of works of art in precious hardstones most notably through the establishment of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in 1588. Artists such as Francesco Ferrucci del Tadda (1497-1585) began working in porphyry, producing items such as his portrait profile relief of Cosimo I de' Medici (Victoria and Albert Museum, London; illustrated in G. Pratesi ed., Repertorio della Scultura Fiorentina del Cinquecento, Turin, 2003, III, fig. 406).
Although it has been suggested that the shoulders of the present bust are ancient, the inaccuracies of the depiction of the armour suggest that it was executed in the 16th or 17th centuries, when knowledge of Roman portraiture was less well established. In particular, the neckline of the breast plate is both assymetrical and masked by an extraneous fold of drapery one would not find in a bust of classical antiquity. Here, the transition from the shoulders to the separately carved head is enlivened by the addition of a band of pleated gilt-bronze, representing the edge of the sitter's tunic. This technique of enhancing busts in coloured marble with gilt-bronze was favoured in the 17th century, and can be seen, for example, in the sumptuous bust of Alexander the Great which was mounted by the French sculptor François Girardon (Versailles; illustrated in Paris 2003, op. cit., no. 49, p. 142).
At the side of the gilt-bronze tunic there is a small seam, and it has been suggested that this might indicate the bronze has been altered to accommodate a head which is not original to the shoulders. Certainly the carving of the head would appear to be by a different hand, quite apart from the clear difference in the colour of the two porphyries. However, with its robust handling of the clumps of hair and the strong facial features, the head recalls the treatment one sees on other heads of the baroque period such as the porphyry head of the Dying Alexander attributed to Romolo Ferrucci (illustrated in del Bufalo, op. cit., no. H80, p. 116). It therefore seems probable that, if the head is indeed a replacement, it is likely to have been in place already in the 17th century.
Although an early provenance has not yet been established, the present bust is known to have been in the collection of Peter Wilson (d. 1984) the influential chairman of Sotheby's from 1958 to 1980. It was purchased at auction by the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley in 2001, and has graced the elegant Marble Hall of his country seat, Houghton Hall, since that time.
With the disintegration of the Roman Empire the widespread exploitation of porphyry also fell into decline, and it was not until the 16th century that there was again an increased interest in it use. In Florence, the Medici Dukes and Grand Dukes promoted the production of works of art in precious hardstones most notably through the establishment of the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in 1588. Artists such as Francesco Ferrucci del Tadda (1497-1585) began working in porphyry, producing items such as his portrait profile relief of Cosimo I de' Medici (Victoria and Albert Museum, London; illustrated in G. Pratesi ed., Repertorio della Scultura Fiorentina del Cinquecento, Turin, 2003, III, fig. 406).
Although it has been suggested that the shoulders of the present bust are ancient, the inaccuracies of the depiction of the armour suggest that it was executed in the 16th or 17th centuries, when knowledge of Roman portraiture was less well established. In particular, the neckline of the breast plate is both assymetrical and masked by an extraneous fold of drapery one would not find in a bust of classical antiquity. Here, the transition from the shoulders to the separately carved head is enlivened by the addition of a band of pleated gilt-bronze, representing the edge of the sitter's tunic. This technique of enhancing busts in coloured marble with gilt-bronze was favoured in the 17th century, and can be seen, for example, in the sumptuous bust of Alexander the Great which was mounted by the French sculptor François Girardon (Versailles; illustrated in Paris 2003, op. cit., no. 49, p. 142).
At the side of the gilt-bronze tunic there is a small seam, and it has been suggested that this might indicate the bronze has been altered to accommodate a head which is not original to the shoulders. Certainly the carving of the head would appear to be by a different hand, quite apart from the clear difference in the colour of the two porphyries. However, with its robust handling of the clumps of hair and the strong facial features, the head recalls the treatment one sees on other heads of the baroque period such as the porphyry head of the Dying Alexander attributed to Romolo Ferrucci (illustrated in del Bufalo, op. cit., no. H80, p. 116). It therefore seems probable that, if the head is indeed a replacement, it is likely to have been in place already in the 17th century.
Although an early provenance has not yet been established, the present bust is known to have been in the collection of Peter Wilson (d. 1984) the influential chairman of Sotheby's from 1958 to 1980. It was purchased at auction by the 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley in 2001, and has graced the elegant Marble Hall of his country seat, Houghton Hall, since that time.