Michael Lake
Head of Department
Lot 60TP
An Italian carved veined marble fountain figure of Neptune holding a dolphin,probably 16th century
18 December 2020, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £12,750 inc. premium
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An Italian carved veined marble fountain figure of Neptune holding a dolphin,
probably 16th century
the naked body in contraposto, entwined with an acanthus leaf and holding the tail of the dolphin, the grotesque face forming the fountain head, on rectangular base lacking head 122cm high
the naked body in contraposto, entwined with an acanthus leaf and holding the tail of the dolphin, the grotesque face forming the fountain head, on rectangular base lacking head 122cm high
Footnotes
The present lot is undoubtedly influenced by both ancient and contemporary Renaissance figures which incorporate dolphin subjects into their compositions.
The Ancient sculptor Lysippus is known to have created a statue of Poseidon on the Isthmus of Greece which depicted the sea God with his foot resting on the back of a dolphin. In the Lateran in Rome, there was also a variant on this model -with Poseidon's foot resting on the prow of a ship.
During the Renaissance the Italian sculptor Bartolommeo Bandinelli (1493-1560) proposed an honorific statue of Andrea Doria with his drawing depicting his model holding a much smaller dolphin with its tail wrapped around his forearm.
However perhaps a more apt comparable for the present lot can be found in Messina. The fountain (created in 1553-57)by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507-1563), a contemporary of Michelangelo's, however depicts the dolphin not held up by Neptune but rather down by the lower part of his right leg.
Related Literature
C. Avery (Dr), A School of Dolphins, Thames & Hudson, 2009
