Lot 64
64
A BRONZE FIGURE OF AN EXECUTIONER
A BRONZE FIGURE OF AN EXECUTIONER
A BRONZE FIGURE OF AN EXECUTIONER
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THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN
A BRONZE FIGURE OF AN EXECUTIONER

WORKSHOP OF MASSIMILIANO SOLDANI-BENZI (1656-1740), FLORENCE, EARLY 18TH CENTURY

Details
A BRONZE FIGURE OF AN EXECUTIONER
WORKSHOP OF MASSIMILIANO SOLDANI-BENZI (1656-1740), FLORENCE, EARLY 18TH CENTURY


Depicted holding the head of St. John the Baptist
15 7/8 in. (40.5 cm.) high
Provenance
Acquired by the grandmother of the present owner, between 1905 and 1914, probably in Florence on the Grand Tour.



Literature
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
Edinburgh, London and Vienna, Royal Scottish Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum and Kunsthistorisches Museum, Giambologna 1529-1608 - Sculptor to the Medici, A. Radcliffe, C. Avery and M. Leithe-Jasper eds., 19 Aug. 1978 - 28 Jan. 1979, no. 49.
C. Avery, 'Soldani's mythological bronzes and his British clientele', Sculpture Journal, XIV, 2005, pp. 8-29, pl. 12.

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Lot Essay

Radcliffe (loc. cit.) remarks that the example of the present composition in Dublin is characteristic of Soldani's work, in particular the fine matt-punching in the hair, and the method of fixing the bronze to the base, via large bronze lugs and tapering iron pins. Avery (2005, loc. cit.,) suggests that Soldani added casts after Giambologna to his repertory late in his career, including the Dublin bronze, acquired by the 1st Earl of Milltown in Florence in 1744-5, four years after Soldani's death, and similar in manufacture and size to the present cast.

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