CAST FROM A MODEL ATTRIBUTED TO VINCENZO DANTI (1530-76), LATE 16TH OR 17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE FIGURE OF BACCHUS
CAST FROM A MODEL ATTRIBUTED TO VINCENZO DANTI (1530-76), LATE 16TH OR 17TH CENTURY
Depicted standing in contrapposto with a wreath in his hair; holding a piece of drapery in his right hand and some fruit in his left; on an integrally cast base and later brown marble socle painted with the inventory number '147'; medium greenish brown patina with traces of a dark brown lacquer
6 7/8 in. (17.5 cm.) high; 9 in. (22.8 cm.) high, overall

Literature

F. Russell ed., The Loyd Collection of Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, revised edition 1991, no. 147, pl. 77.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
J. Pope-Hennessy, Complete Catalogue of the Samuel H. Kress Collection - Renaissance Bronzes, London, 1965, no. 468, fig. 566.

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 present bronze figure is a variant example of a bronze in the Kress collection which was attributed by Pope-Hennessy to Vincenzo Danti (1530-1576). Both bronzes are based upon the celebrated David by Michelangelo, although in reverse, but the Kress bronze has been transformed into a Bacchus by the inclusion of a wreath of grape vines and a bunch of grapes in the lowered hand. The bronze offered here also has the bunch of grapes but the wreath is now a victor's wreath of laurel. It also differs in that the right hand holds a piece of drapery, no doubt a reference to the David, who holds the strap of his slingshot over his right shoulder.

More from Important European Furniture, Sculpture and Carpets

View All