A PAIR OF CARVED IVORY RELIEFS DEPICTING PAN AND DIANA AND MERCURY AND PARIS

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THE PROPERTY OF THE LATE 7TH EARL OF MACCLESFIELD, SOLD BY ORDER OF THE EXECUTOR (LOTS 147 AND 148)

A PAIR OF CARVED IVORY RELIEFS DEPICTING PAN AND DIANA AND MERCURY AND PARIS

ATTRIBUTED TO GIOVANNI BATTISTA POZZI (CIRCA 1670-1752), FIRST HALF 18TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF CARVED IVORY RELIEFS DEPICTING PAN AND DIANA AND MERCURY AND PARIS
ATTRIBUTED TO GIOVANNI BATTISTA POZZI (CIRCA 1670-1752), FIRST HALF 18TH CENTURY
Pan is depicted handing a fleece to Diana; Paris is seated on a rock, facing his hound, and holding out his hand while Mercury hands him an apple; each in a later rectangular moulded giltwood frame
7 1/8 x 3 3/8 in. (18 x 8.5 cm.); 11½ x 8 in. (29.1 x 20.3 cm.) (2)

Provenance

Probably purchased by George Parker, later 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, while in Rome on the Grand Tour in 1721, and thence by descent.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
D. Fitzgerald, Georgian Furniture, London, 1969, no. 43.
M. Ucella ed., Rilievi e Placchette dal XV al XVIII secolo, Rome, 1982, nos. 69-75, pp. 72-76.
C. Theuerkauff, Elfenbein - Sammlung Reiner Winkler, Munich, 1984, no. 61, pp. 114-117.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

The scenes depicted on these ivory reliefs tell the story, in the first instance, of how Pan won the heart of Diana by offering her a gift of snow white wool. The second relief shows Mercury giving the apple to Paris which he would later offer to the fairest of Venus, Juno and Minerva, known to art history as The Judgement of Paris. The pairing of these two scenes had the advantage of providing visual symmetry. Each portrays a flying god descending to interact with an earthbound figure, each of whom is also accompanied by a domestic animal.

For a discussion of the attribution to Pozzi and the provenance of these reliefs, please refer to the note of the previous lot.

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