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拍品專文
The present mortar is beautifully decorated in very delicate relief. It is related to three mortars formerly in the Kress Collection and now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, which Pope-Hennessy catalogued as 'probably Venetian, early 16th century' on the basis that one of the three bears a Venetian coat of arms (op. cit., p. 155, no. 568). The overall form of the present lot is somewhat more slender than the Washington mortars, but all four have identical dolphin handles, as well as sharing individual decorative motifs. In particular, the present mortar and number 566 in the Kress catalogue, share an identical border around the lip, as well as the hind which scratches himself. Number 568 also has the hind, as well as the garlands interspersed with hanging bucrania. Other mortars which appear to come from the same foundry include one in Berlin (Bode, loc. cit.), the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, and the Thyssen -Bornemisza Collection in Vaduz.
In his entry on this latter mortar (loc. cit.), Anthony Radcliffe notes the close similarity between it and a mortar in the Bargello, Florence, which is actually signed by Giulio Alberghetti. The Alberghetti were a dynasty of founders who worked in the Arsenal in Venice from the late 15th to the early 19th centuries. Giulio was director of the foundry at the Arsenal in the mid 16th century. Although it is apparent that recurring motifs alone do not allow us to attribute the present mortar to a particular artist, Radcliffe does attribute the larger group of mortars to the Alberghetti foundries in the early to mid 16th century. By extension, the present mortar can be included in this group.
In his entry on this latter mortar (loc. cit.), Anthony Radcliffe notes the close similarity between it and a mortar in the Bargello, Florence, which is actually signed by Giulio Alberghetti. The Alberghetti were a dynasty of founders who worked in the Arsenal in Venice from the late 15th to the early 19th centuries. Giulio was director of the foundry at the Arsenal in the mid 16th century. Although it is apparent that recurring motifs alone do not allow us to attribute the present mortar to a particular artist, Radcliffe does attribute the larger group of mortars to the Alberghetti foundries in the early to mid 16th century. By extension, the present mortar can be included in this group.