ITALIAN, AFTER THE ANTIQUE, CIRCA 1722

Details

A BRONZE FIGURE OF THE DANCING FAUN
ITALIAN, AFTER THE ANTIQUE, CIRCA 1722
On an integrally cast oval base; medium brown patina
22½ in. (57.1 cm.) high

Provenance

One of the 13 bronzes purchased by Thomas, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, 15 July 1723 for a total of £300.
Thence by descent at Shirburn Castle.

Literature

T. P. Connor, 'The fruits of a Grand Tour - Edward Wright and Lord Parker in Italy, 1720-22', in Apollo, July 1998, pp. 23-30.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
G. Mansuelli, Galleria degli Uffizi - Le Sculture, Rome, 1961, I, p. 80, no. 51.
F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique - The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900, New Haven and London, 1981, pp. 205-208, no. 34, fig. 106.

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 Dancing Faun, like the Venus de' Medici with which it was so often paired, was housed in the Tribuna of the Uffizi and was considered to be one of the most beautiful marble sculptures remaining from antiquity, a reputation which it continues to enjoy today. It was first recorded with certainty in a book published by the son of the painter Rubens in 1665, at which time it was already in the Medici collections, and by 1688 it had been moved to its present location (Haskell and Penny, loc. cit.). The model was obviously particularly admired by Lord Parker, as it is represented in the Macclesfield collection by the full-size bronze by Cipriani (see lot 64), the present reduced bronze, and a plaster of the head alone (see lot 65).

See also the note to lot 64.

More from Important European Furniture, Sculpture and Carpets

View All