WORKSHOP OF FRANCESCO FANELLI, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE GROUP OF CUPID RIDING ON A DOLPHIN
WORKSHOP OF FRANCESCO FANELLI, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY
Depicted blindfolded and drawing his bow; on a later cylindrical ebonised wood base; blackish brown patina with warm chocolate brown high points; very minor damages and losses
4 3/8 in. (11 cm.) high; 5¾ in. (14.5 cm.) high, overall

Provenance

Purchased by Alfred Beit (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 'Venetian, second half 16th century'.
W. Bode, Catalogue of the Collection of Pictures and Bronzes in the Possession of Mr. Otto Beit, London, 1913, p. 109, no. 221, as 'Unknown Florentine artist'.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
J. Pope-Hennessy, 'Some Bronze Statuettes by Francesco Fanelli', reprinted in Essays on Italian Sculpture, New York and London, 1968, pp. 166-171.

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

Cupid is here depicted drawing his bow and standing on a dolphin which recalls the birth of his mother, Venus, from the sea. The image thus carries a double message of love and fertility.

This model, a variant of which is offered as lot 167, is attributed to Francesco Fanelli, court sculptor to Charles I, on the basis of the similarity of the figure of Cupid to another Cupid, riding on horseback. That model is included in an inventory of the King's collection at Whitehall, where it is described as '...a little runing horse- Cupid sitting on..' which was made by 'ffrancisco the one eyed Italian' (quoted in Pope-Hennessy, op. cit., p. 166, the model is illustrated as fig. 198).

For a general discussion of Fanelli's work in the Beit collection, see the pre-lot text to lot 172.

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