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Lot Essay
The fantastical scene depicted is based on the Italian epic poem Orlando Furioso written by Ariosto in Ferrara in 1532. Orlando is the Christian knight at the service of Emperor Charlemagne during the war against the Saracens. In a mixture of realism and fantasy, humour and tragedy, war and love, it is an epic tale on the ideal of chivalry. Orlando is here riding on the back of the sea monster, fixing a large anchor to its open jaws, to save Olympia, a fair victim offered as a sacrifice by the inhabitants of the local island of Ebuda, which is being terrorized by the Orc.
There is another version of the present group in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, which is attributed to the innovative Florentine sculptor Ferdinando Tacca. The Abbott-Guggenheim cast differs by the absence of both the escutcheon at the head of the Orc and the boots at Orlando’s feet, as well as a simplified design for the details of the integral base mouldings. The attribution to Tacca is based upon the similarities in the treatment of Orlando’s face and armour to known bronzes by the artist. It appears Tacca was also heavily invested in Ariosto’s poetry as inspiration for his work, as several other known Tacca groups, including Ruggiero and Angelica (Louvre, OA 7811), were drawn from Ariosto’s writings. It has also been noted that the finish and character of the present bronze is very similar to another Tacca bronze of a warrior drawing a sword also in the Ashmolean Museum (Penny, op. cit., no. 95).
There is another version of the present group in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, which is attributed to the innovative Florentine sculptor Ferdinando Tacca. The Abbott-Guggenheim cast differs by the absence of both the escutcheon at the head of the Orc and the boots at Orlando’s feet, as well as a simplified design for the details of the integral base mouldings. The attribution to Tacca is based upon the similarities in the treatment of Orlando’s face and armour to known bronzes by the artist. It appears Tacca was also heavily invested in Ariosto’s poetry as inspiration for his work, as several other known Tacca groups, including Ruggiero and Angelica (Louvre, OA 7811), were drawn from Ariosto’s writings. It has also been noted that the finish and character of the present bronze is very similar to another Tacca bronze of a warrior drawing a sword also in the Ashmolean Museum (Penny, op. cit., no. 95).