CIRCLE OF GIROLAMO CAMPAGNA (1545 - CIRCA 1625), LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE INKWELL
CIRCLE OF GIROLAMO CAMPAGNA (1545 - CIRCA 1625), LATE 16TH OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY
The well of tripartite form; held aloft by three seated putti and with a lid surmounted by an allegorical figure of Hope; decorated overall with masks; on an integrally cast tripartite base and modern canted triangular marble plinth; medium brown patina with lighter high points; very minor damages and replacements
11¾ in. (29.8 cm.) high; 12¾ in. (32.4 cm.) high, overall

Provenance

Purchased by Alfred (1853-1906) by 1904.
Thence by descent to Lady (Clementine) Beit (1915-2005) by whom donated to the Alfred Beit Foundation in 2005.

Literature

W. Bode, The Art Collection of Mr. Alfred Beit at His Residence 26 Park Lane London, Berlin, 1904, as 'Alessandro Vittoria'.
W. Bode, Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures and Bronzes in the Possession of Mr. Otto Beit, London, 1913, p. 114, no. 262, as 'Allesandro Vittoria'.
L. Planiscig, Venezianische Bildhauer der Renaissance, Vienna, 1921, p. 583, fig. 645, illustrated.
W. Bode, The Italian Bronze Statuettes of the Renaissance, ed. and rev. by J. Draper, New York, 1980, p. 102, pl. CLIX, illustrated.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The pyramidal form and the decorative vocabulary of this inkwell are reminiscent of Venetian andirons of the period, which were also often surmounted by an allegorical figure as seen here. When Bode included this inkwell in his catalogue of the Beit collection in 1913, it was attributed to Alessandro Vittoria, but Planiscig (1927, loc. cit.) gave it to Tiziano Aspetti. In fact, the figure of Hope which surmounts the inkwell probably comes closest to the work of a contemporary, Girolamo Campagna, although the lack of any documented small bronzes for any of these artists makes a definitive attribution difficult. Certainly, the exaggerated torsion of the figure and the relatively small oval face of the present female figure recall signed marbles by Campagna such as the two sybils he carved for S. Sebastiano in Venice of circa 1582 (see Timofiewitsch, loc. cit.).

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