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Lot Essay
The freely modelled surface of the present bronze eagle appears to have been inspired by the various animali created by Bartolomeo Ammannati and Giambologna for the grotto of the Medici villa of Castello in the 1550s and 1560s (for extant examples see Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Giambologna: gli dei, gli eroi, 2 Mar. - 15 June 2006, B. Paolozzi Strozzi and D. Zikos, eds., no. 50, pp. 249-252). It shares a number of characteristics with another bronze eagle attributed to Giambologna coming from the collection of the Duke of Wellington (Sotheby's London, 11 December 1980, lot 161) but is perhaps closest to the eagle from the bronze Ganymede in the Bargello attributed to the anonymous 'Master of the Ganymede' (see Florence, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, L'Acqua, La Pietra, Il Fuoco - Bartolomeo Ammannati Scultore, 11 May - 18 Sep. 2011, B. Paolozzi Strozzi and D. Zikos eds. no. 5, pp. 366-369). The eagle from this group - which was tentatively linked to Ammannati in the exhibition catalogue cited above - displays the same combination of robustly modelled feathers which have then been further defined with a stylus in the wax model. The wrinkled claws of both birds are also extremely close.
With its integrally cast spreading base, it is difficult to determine the original function of the present bronze. It could have been part of a fountain or the finial for a balustrade or other architectural component. It is worth noting that the eagle was a heraldic symbol for the Mattei family in Rome, a family for whom Ammannnati is known to have worked. One of their palaces in Rome, the Palazzo Mattei di Giove, incorporated numerous eagles in its decoration including carved stone eagle reliefs over the windows of its inner courtyard.
With its integrally cast spreading base, it is difficult to determine the original function of the present bronze. It could have been part of a fountain or the finial for a balustrade or other architectural component. It is worth noting that the eagle was a heraldic symbol for the Mattei family in Rome, a family for whom Ammannnati is known to have worked. One of their palaces in Rome, the Palazzo Mattei di Giove, incorporated numerous eagles in its decoration including carved stone eagle reliefs over the windows of its inner courtyard.