Lot Essay
The fountain as it appears illustrated in the J.P. Morgan sale catalogue and Maria Acccascina's publications is incorrectly assembled. The present conformation, which follows exactly the form of Montorsoli's fountain, is believed to be the original one.
The Fountain of Orion, described by Herbert Keunter as Messina's most splendid public monument, was sculpted by Montorsoli between 1547 and 1553, one of two by the Florentine sculptor to be erected in Messina. The fountain itself is enclosed by the recumbent figures of the four River Gods, Tiber, Nile, Ebro and Camaro, symbols of Italy, North Africa, Spain and Sicily respectively, in honour of Charles V. As Vasari describes the fountain in his life of Montorsoli: "On a socle four palms high in the middle of the octagon a winged and armless siren sits at each corner, and above these are four tritons, eight palms high, their tails intertwined and bearing a great cup, into which four superbly carved masks spout water. From the middle of the cup issue two hideous masks of Scylla and Charybdis, held by three nude nymphs, each six palms high, who hold the last cup, at the base of which are four dolphins, whose upturned tails support a ball from which water flows from four heads, as it does from the dolphins, which are ridden by four naked infants. At the very top is the armed figure of Orion, bearing the arms of Messina on his shield, of which town he is the fabled founder"
Giuseppe d'Angelo's interpretation of the fountain uses practically all of Montorsoli's motifs. However, on the silver centerpiece the figure of Orion is replaced by a naked putto subduing a sea monster. He is supported on a column formed of four carytids; on the original fountain these caryatids appear on the corners of the surrounding wall. Similarly, the putti which sit astride sea monsters which support Orion on Montorsoli's fountain appear as free-standing figures flanking the stem on the centerpiece. They stand on a flat-chased geometric design which copies the inlaid pavement of the original fountain.
The present lot is the most important example of a small group of sculptural table ornaments made by Messinese silversmiths during this period. Closest in style and modelling is the salt cellar bearing the maker's mark of Sebastiano Juvaro in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated here. Its stem, like the present fountain, is based directly on the Fountain of Orion, but the modelling of the tritons, while every bit as vigorous, is slightly different. Similarly, the sea horses supporting it, which also rest on the plain rim pedestals, together with the lobed flange and the putto blowing a horn, are all closely related to d'Angelo's silver centerpiece. Moreover both pieces are characterized by the contrast between the plain surfaces of the stepped base and the sculptural modelling of the stems. A third salt cellar, unmarked but of undoubted Messinese origin, is in the Museum of Decorative Arts, Oslo, and shows similar features. It is very likely that the present lot and the salt cellar in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and possibly the Oslo salt, all form part of one table garniture made during the late 1660s or early70s.
It is known that Giuseppe d'Angelo, a contemporary of Sebastiano, Filippo and Gregorio Juvaro, the sons of Pietro, worked in collaboration with the Juvaro family. Their greatest work perhaps is the magnificant pair of candlesticks in the Duomo, Messina, dating from 1671.
Table fountains like the present example appear in contemporary Sicilian inventories: one listing made at the end of the 17th Century for the Ventimiglia family records 'Una fontana d'argento e coralli con finimenti di rame dorate . . .'
A look at the historical context of Messina during this period perhaps provides us with a clue to the dating of the present lot, for the cultural richness of Messina during the second half of the 17th Century is in direct contrast to its political turmoil. Traditionally, Messina had always looked more to the mainland that to its sister cities on Sicily, regarding itself as a cosmopolitan center. Such a view was justified by its large foreign community which included an English consul and Anglican church. But Messina's disputes with her neighbours, particularly with her long-standing rival, Palermo, meant that the agriculture that surrounded the city, and especially the silk industry, suffered greatly. Bread riots became common so that it is hardly surprising that by 1674 events had led to a revolution which saw the expulsion of the small Spanish garrison and the invitation by a group of the city nobles to Louis XIV to rule the city. Louis accepted and French troops arrived in early 1675, causing concern as far away as London, where Samuel Pepys worried that from Messina Louis could dominate the Mediterranean.
The French Viceroy, the Duke of Vivonne, remarked that the Messinese nobles were for the mosst part untaxed and enjoyed great riches. In four centuries of rule, the Spanish had never discovered where their secret wheat stores were.
By 1678, however, Louis realized that he had overextended himself by trying to dominate Sicily and withdrew, causing the leading burghers of the city to flee, taking with them their assets. The Spanish returned and appointed a new Viceroy, General Gonzaga, who reduced Messina's privileges, tore down the town hall and, as a symbolic gesture, ploughed up the site and sowed it with salt.
As the greatest symbol the Messines had of their civic pride, the Fountain of Orion is hardly a surprising subject for a silver centerpiece during this period.It is not without significance tht those parts of the fountain's iconography which refer directly to the Hapsburgs, such as the four river gods, are absent from the silver version. The identity of the patron who commissioned it remains uncertain, but without doubt the most likely candidate is Antonio Ruffo, one of the Sicilian noble house whose palazzo is Messina has been described as embodying the cultural life of the period ('con la sua pinacoteca, il medagliere, le argenteric artistiche, i ricchi arazzi, gli spendidi affreschi, divento il covegno degli intellettuali del tempo'). The crest of the Ruffo family is a demi-horse which perhaps inspired the four sea-horses which enclose d'Angelo's version of the fountain. These sea-horses appear on Montorsoli's other greatwork in Messina, the Neptune Fountain, which he completed after the Orion Fountain.
Antonio Ruffo, the youngest son of the Duke of Bagnara, was born about 1606. He is perhaps the best known as a patron of Rembrandt; he commisoned three from the Dutch artist, including Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer. He is known also as a great patron of the Messinese silversmiths, particularly the Juvaro and d'Angelo families. Maria Accascina, in her 1962 article 'Di Pietro Juvaro e di Altri Orafi di Casa Ruffo a Messina' referred to the group of three table ornaments mentioned above as being likely commissions from Ruffo, who died in 1678.
Christie's wishes to thank Ubaldo Vitali for his help in the preparation of this catalogue entry.
NOTES
1. Herbert Keutner, Sculpture, Renaissance to Rococo, New York, 1978, p.309; Giorgio Vasari, The Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects, 1963 ed., vol. IV, p.48
2. Maria Accascina, Oreficeria di Siciliana, op. cit., fig. 217.
3. ibid, fig. 224.
4. 'Inventario e Consegna d'Argenti della Eccellentissima Sig[no]ra D. Felice Ventimiglia Principessa pesati dà Frencesco Bracco li 25 Agosto 1693', cap. 1983v, in Ori e Argenti di Sicilia, op. cit., p.390.
5. Denis Mack Smith, A History of Sicily, London, 1968, vol. I, p.231.
6. For a discussion of the complex iconography of Montorsoli's fountain, see S. ffolliott, Civic Sculpture in the Renaissance: Montorsoli's Fountains at Messina, Ann Arbor, 1984, cit. Pope-Hennessey, Italian High Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture, New York, 1985 ed., p. 456, and Birgit Laschke, Fra Giovan Angelo da Montorsoli, Ein Florentiner Bildhauer des 16. Jahrhunderts, 1993, p.91-98.
7. Vincenzo Ruffo, 'Galleria Ruffo nel secolo XVII in Messina', Bolletino d'Arte, vol. X, 1916, p. 27.
8. Horst Gerson, Rembrandt, Amsterdam, 1968, p. 114.
9. See G. Arenaprimo, Argenterie artistiche messenesi del secolo XVII, Florence, 1901.
10. in Antichita Viva, col. I 1962.
Captions
Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507?-1563), The Fountain of Orion, marble, Piazza del Duomo, Messina
detail of Montorsoli's Fountain of Orion
detail of lot 53
detail of Montorsoli's Fountain of Orion
detail of lot 53
Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507?-1563), Study for the Neptune Fountain, Messina, Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, "Album Casale", f.22
Sebastiano Juvara, Salt cellar, silver, Messina, circa 1670, height 11in. (28cm.), Victoria and Albert Museum, London (161.1879), reproduced courtesy of the Trustees
The Fountain of Orion, described by Herbert Keunter as Messina's most splendid public monument, was sculpted by Montorsoli between 1547 and 1553, one of two by the Florentine sculptor to be erected in Messina. The fountain itself is enclosed by the recumbent figures of the four River Gods, Tiber, Nile, Ebro and Camaro, symbols of Italy, North Africa, Spain and Sicily respectively, in honour of Charles V. As Vasari describes the fountain in his life of Montorsoli: "On a socle four palms high in the middle of the octagon a winged and armless siren sits at each corner, and above these are four tritons, eight palms high, their tails intertwined and bearing a great cup, into which four superbly carved masks spout water. From the middle of the cup issue two hideous masks of Scylla and Charybdis, held by three nude nymphs, each six palms high, who hold the last cup, at the base of which are four dolphins, whose upturned tails support a ball from which water flows from four heads, as it does from the dolphins, which are ridden by four naked infants. At the very top is the armed figure of Orion, bearing the arms of Messina on his shield, of which town he is the fabled founder"
Giuseppe d'Angelo's interpretation of the fountain uses practically all of Montorsoli's motifs. However, on the silver centerpiece the figure of Orion is replaced by a naked putto subduing a sea monster. He is supported on a column formed of four carytids; on the original fountain these caryatids appear on the corners of the surrounding wall. Similarly, the putti which sit astride sea monsters which support Orion on Montorsoli's fountain appear as free-standing figures flanking the stem on the centerpiece. They stand on a flat-chased geometric design which copies the inlaid pavement of the original fountain.
The present lot is the most important example of a small group of sculptural table ornaments made by Messinese silversmiths during this period. Closest in style and modelling is the salt cellar bearing the maker's mark of Sebastiano Juvaro in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated here. Its stem, like the present fountain, is based directly on the Fountain of Orion, but the modelling of the tritons, while every bit as vigorous, is slightly different. Similarly, the sea horses supporting it, which also rest on the plain rim pedestals, together with the lobed flange and the putto blowing a horn, are all closely related to d'Angelo's silver centerpiece. Moreover both pieces are characterized by the contrast between the plain surfaces of the stepped base and the sculptural modelling of the stems. A third salt cellar, unmarked but of undoubted Messinese origin, is in the Museum of Decorative Arts, Oslo, and shows similar features. It is very likely that the present lot and the salt cellar in the Victoria and Albert Museum, and possibly the Oslo salt, all form part of one table garniture made during the late 1660s or early70s.
It is known that Giuseppe d'Angelo, a contemporary of Sebastiano, Filippo and Gregorio Juvaro, the sons of Pietro, worked in collaboration with the Juvaro family. Their greatest work perhaps is the magnificant pair of candlesticks in the Duomo, Messina, dating from 1671.
Table fountains like the present example appear in contemporary Sicilian inventories: one listing made at the end of the 17th Century for the Ventimiglia family records 'Una fontana d'argento e coralli con finimenti di rame dorate . . .'
A look at the historical context of Messina during this period perhaps provides us with a clue to the dating of the present lot, for the cultural richness of Messina during the second half of the 17th Century is in direct contrast to its political turmoil. Traditionally, Messina had always looked more to the mainland that to its sister cities on Sicily, regarding itself as a cosmopolitan center. Such a view was justified by its large foreign community which included an English consul and Anglican church. But Messina's disputes with her neighbours, particularly with her long-standing rival, Palermo, meant that the agriculture that surrounded the city, and especially the silk industry, suffered greatly. Bread riots became common so that it is hardly surprising that by 1674 events had led to a revolution which saw the expulsion of the small Spanish garrison and the invitation by a group of the city nobles to Louis XIV to rule the city. Louis accepted and French troops arrived in early 1675, causing concern as far away as London, where Samuel Pepys worried that from Messina Louis could dominate the Mediterranean.
The French Viceroy, the Duke of Vivonne, remarked that the Messinese nobles were for the mosst part untaxed and enjoyed great riches. In four centuries of rule, the Spanish had never discovered where their secret wheat stores were.
By 1678, however, Louis realized that he had overextended himself by trying to dominate Sicily and withdrew, causing the leading burghers of the city to flee, taking with them their assets. The Spanish returned and appointed a new Viceroy, General Gonzaga, who reduced Messina's privileges, tore down the town hall and, as a symbolic gesture, ploughed up the site and sowed it with salt.
As the greatest symbol the Messines had of their civic pride, the Fountain of Orion is hardly a surprising subject for a silver centerpiece during this period.It is not without significance tht those parts of the fountain's iconography which refer directly to the Hapsburgs, such as the four river gods, are absent from the silver version. The identity of the patron who commissioned it remains uncertain, but without doubt the most likely candidate is Antonio Ruffo, one of the Sicilian noble house whose palazzo is Messina has been described as embodying the cultural life of the period ('con la sua pinacoteca, il medagliere, le argenteric artistiche, i ricchi arazzi, gli spendidi affreschi, divento il covegno degli intellettuali del tempo'). The crest of the Ruffo family is a demi-horse which perhaps inspired the four sea-horses which enclose d'Angelo's version of the fountain. These sea-horses appear on Montorsoli's other greatwork in Messina, the Neptune Fountain, which he completed after the Orion Fountain.
Antonio Ruffo, the youngest son of the Duke of Bagnara, was born about 1606. He is perhaps the best known as a patron of Rembrandt; he commisoned three from the Dutch artist, including Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer. He is known also as a great patron of the Messinese silversmiths, particularly the Juvaro and d'Angelo families. Maria Accascina, in her 1962 article 'Di Pietro Juvaro e di Altri Orafi di Casa Ruffo a Messina' referred to the group of three table ornaments mentioned above as being likely commissions from Ruffo, who died in 1678.
Christie's wishes to thank Ubaldo Vitali for his help in the preparation of this catalogue entry.
NOTES
1. Herbert Keutner, Sculpture, Renaissance to Rococo, New York, 1978, p.309; Giorgio Vasari, The Lives of the Painters, Sculptors and Architects, 1963 ed., vol. IV, p.48
2. Maria Accascina, Oreficeria di Siciliana, op. cit., fig. 217.
3. ibid, fig. 224.
4. 'Inventario e Consegna d'Argenti della Eccellentissima Sig[no]ra D. Felice Ventimiglia Principessa pesati dà Frencesco Bracco li 25 Agosto 1693', cap. 1983v, in Ori e Argenti di Sicilia, op. cit., p.390.
5. Denis Mack Smith, A History of Sicily, London, 1968, vol. I, p.231.
6. For a discussion of the complex iconography of Montorsoli's fountain, see S. ffolliott, Civic Sculpture in the Renaissance: Montorsoli's Fountains at Messina, Ann Arbor, 1984, cit. Pope-Hennessey, Italian High Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture, New York, 1985 ed., p. 456, and Birgit Laschke, Fra Giovan Angelo da Montorsoli, Ein Florentiner Bildhauer des 16. Jahrhunderts, 1993, p.91-98.
7. Vincenzo Ruffo, 'Galleria Ruffo nel secolo XVII in Messina', Bolletino d'Arte, vol. X, 1916, p. 27.
8. Horst Gerson, Rembrandt, Amsterdam, 1968, p. 114.
9. See G. Arenaprimo, Argenterie artistiche messenesi del secolo XVII, Florence, 1901.
10. in Antichita Viva, col. I 1962.
Captions
Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507?-1563), The Fountain of Orion, marble, Piazza del Duomo, Messina
detail of Montorsoli's Fountain of Orion
detail of lot 53
detail of Montorsoli's Fountain of Orion
detail of lot 53
Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507?-1563), Study for the Neptune Fountain, Messina, Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, "Album Casale", f.22
Sebastiano Juvara, Salt cellar, silver, Messina, circa 1670, height 11in. (28cm.), Victoria and Albert Museum, London (161.1879), reproduced courtesy of the Trustees