Lot Essay
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
J. Leeuwenbergand and W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1973, no. 339A
Bruxelles, Musée d'Art Ancien, La Sculpture au Siècle de Rubens, 1977, no. 5
The present model of a young moor dressed in livery relates closely to a signed and dated standing figure of a Moorish boy by Jan Claudius de Cock (1667 - 1735). The figure is now in the Rijksmuseum, is dated 1704 and may represent either Africa as part of a set of the Four Continents, or more specifically a Flemish Colonial enterprise. Equally, the decoration on the choir stalls of the church of Saint-Pierre in Turnhout of 1713 by de Cock includes a head of a young Moor adorned with pearls and feathers, symbolic of Africa. Examples of the present model are known, such as the one in the Victoria & Albert Museum (no. A18-1913), which vary in minor details, principally in the diversity of the portraits within the medallion. The present subtly carved bust is a fine example of the taste for the exotic of the 18th Century prosperous burghers of Flanders with mercantile interests in Africa and the East, attributed to an ecclectic and talented sculptor, draughtsman and poet.
J. Leeuwenbergand and W. Halsema-Kubes, Beeldhouwkunst in het Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1973, no. 339A
Bruxelles, Musée d'Art Ancien, La Sculpture au Siècle de Rubens, 1977, no. 5
The present model of a young moor dressed in livery relates closely to a signed and dated standing figure of a Moorish boy by Jan Claudius de Cock (1667 - 1735). The figure is now in the Rijksmuseum, is dated 1704 and may represent either Africa as part of a set of the Four Continents, or more specifically a Flemish Colonial enterprise. Equally, the decoration on the choir stalls of the church of Saint-Pierre in Turnhout of 1713 by de Cock includes a head of a young Moor adorned with pearls and feathers, symbolic of Africa. Examples of the present model are known, such as the one in the Victoria & Albert Museum (no. A18-1913), which vary in minor details, principally in the diversity of the portraits within the medallion. The present subtly carved bust is a fine example of the taste for the exotic of the 18th Century prosperous burghers of Flanders with mercantile interests in Africa and the East, attributed to an ecclectic and talented sculptor, draughtsman and poet.