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Lot Essay
The shepherd holding the lantern and one of the two with bagpipes relates quite closely to those figures by Lorenzo Mosca. For example, see another shepherd boy by Mosca illustrated in F. Mancini, Ibid, fig. 30.
The sleeping shepherd was a highly popular figure in Neapolitan presepe, often recurring as a caricatured type demonstrating that not all will be attuned to the arrival of the Savior. Additional social commentary is found in the unflattering manner that the poor country shepherd is portrayed to please the cosmopolitan urban patron. Two similar sleeping figures, one attributed to Angelo Vita the other to Francesco Cappiello, sold Semenzato, Rome, 1 December 1999, lots 35 and 36 respectively. In facial detail and modelling, the current sleeping figure is similar to another figure of a shepherd sold Sotheby's London, 15 December 1999, part lot 184.
The standing figure of a village woman with a basket was another type that often appears in Neapolitan presepe, representative of the bustle of urban life that continues unaware of the miraculous birth taking place in its midst. The present figure can be compared to two figures, one from the workshop of Francesco Viva and another attributed to Lorenzo Mosca, both sold Semenzato, Rome, 1 December 1999, lots 18 and 212 respectively.
The sleeping shepherd was a highly popular figure in Neapolitan presepe, often recurring as a caricatured type demonstrating that not all will be attuned to the arrival of the Savior. Additional social commentary is found in the unflattering manner that the poor country shepherd is portrayed to please the cosmopolitan urban patron. Two similar sleeping figures, one attributed to Angelo Vita the other to Francesco Cappiello, sold Semenzato, Rome, 1 December 1999, lots 35 and 36 respectively. In facial detail and modelling, the current sleeping figure is similar to another figure of a shepherd sold Sotheby's London, 15 December 1999, part lot 184.
The standing figure of a village woman with a basket was another type that often appears in Neapolitan presepe, representative of the bustle of urban life that continues unaware of the miraculous birth taking place in its midst. The present figure can be compared to two figures, one from the workshop of Francesco Viva and another attributed to Lorenzo Mosca, both sold Semenzato, Rome, 1 December 1999, lots 18 and 212 respectively.