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Lot Essay
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
M. Leithe-Jasper and P. Wengraf, European Bronzes from the Quentin Collection, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2004, p. 162.
Morgante (c. 1535-after 1594) was the court dwarf for the ruling Medici dynasty, and he appeared in at least three different incarnations in Giambologna's oeuvre. The most common are two free-standing bronzes: one where he holds a cornetto in one hand and a walking stick in the other, and one in which he personifies Bacchus, holding a tazza and a walking stick. The present composition conforms to the latter, as Morgante holds the stem of his drinking cup in his right hand and the handle of the stick in his left. For additional casts of this version, see Leithe-Jasper and Wengraf (op. cit., Type Ab).
M. Leithe-Jasper and P. Wengraf, European Bronzes from the Quentin Collection, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2004, p. 162.
Morgante (c. 1535-after 1594) was the court dwarf for the ruling Medici dynasty, and he appeared in at least three different incarnations in Giambologna's oeuvre. The most common are two free-standing bronzes: one where he holds a cornetto in one hand and a walking stick in the other, and one in which he personifies Bacchus, holding a tazza and a walking stick. The present composition conforms to the latter, as Morgante holds the stem of his drinking cup in his right hand and the handle of the stick in his left. For additional casts of this version, see Leithe-Jasper and Wengraf (op. cit., Type Ab).