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Lot Essay
A bronze pacing lion by Giambologna is listed by Dhanens (loc. cit.) as being among items listed in a 1587 inventory of Medici belongings at the Villa Magia near Pistoia. That lion may be identical with one presently in the Bargello. Both the Bargello example and another in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna - formerly in the collection of the Emperor Rudolph II - are thought to represent the earliest examples of the model, cast by Giambologna's most famous founder, Antonio Susini. They have an integral bronze oval base, and a tail which curves forward at the end.
The present bronze is closely comparable to examples in the Robert H. Smith Collection and the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein (locs. cit.). All three differ from the lions mentioned above in the lack of a bronze plinth, and the tail which curves back at the end instead of forward. Both the Liechtenstein and Smith bronzes are attributed to Gianfrancesco Susini, the nephew of Antonio, who is known to have continued producing examples of Giambologna's model after the master's death (Radcliffe, op. cit., p. 70). The beautiful modelling and exquisite surface treatment suggest that the present bronze is by the same hand.
The present bronze is closely comparable to examples in the Robert H. Smith Collection and the collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein (locs. cit.). All three differ from the lions mentioned above in the lack of a bronze plinth, and the tail which curves back at the end instead of forward. Both the Liechtenstein and Smith bronzes are attributed to Gianfrancesco Susini, the nephew of Antonio, who is known to have continued producing examples of Giambologna's model after the master's death (Radcliffe, op. cit., p. 70). The beautiful modelling and exquisite surface treatment suggest that the present bronze is by the same hand.