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Lot Essay
Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (born circa 519 BC) was a Roman consul in 460 BC and dictator twice, in 458 BC and 439 BC. He was one of the heroes of early Rome and the model of old Roman virtue and simplicity. As a persistent opponent of the plebeians - the general body of Roman citizens - he resisted the proposals of their leader, Terentilius Arsa, to draw up a code of written laws that applied equally to the patricians - the elite caste of Rome - and plebeians.
Legend has it that before his first term as dictator the Roman Senate pleaded with Cincinnatus to subdue the Aequi and Volscian tribes that were approaching Rome. Fearing that his crops would die in his absence, he refused to help, but with mounting pressure eventually assented to the request and within sixteen days had defeated both the Aequi and the Volscians. With the end of the crisis, he immediately resigned his absolute authority and as a result has been credited as an example of good leadership and the epitome of modesty.
The antique prototype in the Louvre, upon which the present terracotta is based, was first recorded in the collection of the Cardinal Montalto and was almost certainly in the Villa Peretti-Montalto, Rome, by 1594 (see also note to lot 60). It was then sold, along with the Germanicus to Louis XIV and displayed in the Salle des Appartements at Versailles. In 1800 it was moved to Paris where it still resides.
The present masterfully modelled example holds a special place in the Macclesfield collection of sculpture as it is the only work in terracotta.
Legend has it that before his first term as dictator the Roman Senate pleaded with Cincinnatus to subdue the Aequi and Volscian tribes that were approaching Rome. Fearing that his crops would die in his absence, he refused to help, but with mounting pressure eventually assented to the request and within sixteen days had defeated both the Aequi and the Volscians. With the end of the crisis, he immediately resigned his absolute authority and as a result has been credited as an example of good leadership and the epitome of modesty.
The antique prototype in the Louvre, upon which the present terracotta is based, was first recorded in the collection of the Cardinal Montalto and was almost certainly in the Villa Peretti-Montalto, Rome, by 1594 (see also note to lot 60). It was then sold, along with the Germanicus to Louis XIV and displayed in the Salle des Appartements at Versailles. In 1800 it was moved to Paris where it still resides.
The present masterfully modelled example holds a special place in the Macclesfield collection of sculpture as it is the only work in terracotta.