Antique Baroque Sculpture and Figures
BAROQUE SCULPTURE
A NETHERLANDISH WHITE MARBLE GROUP of Leda and the Swan, the voluptuous naked heroine with a pearl diadem in her hair, from which a veil descends to her hips, fondling the swan who stands beside her, his left wing enfolding her buttocks, first half 17th Century.
See the exhibition Catalogue ‘La Sculpture au Siecle de Rubens’, for a marble group of the Caritas Romana, alternately attributed to J.II du Quesnoy and Artus I Quellin, a pipe clay group of Samson and Dalila by Artus I Quellin, for sculptures in similar style and with the same sensuality and uninhibited eroticism. Artus I Quellin’s (1609-1668) most famous pupil Gabriel Grupello (1644-1730) developed this style even further; his female figures however always indicate the heritage of his master.
A FINE GERMAN ALABASTER RELIEF of the Three Graces, by Leonhard Kern, the three naked goddesses standing in a circle holding hands, the central figure is shown full back, the one on the left from the front, turning the head and upper body facing the figure on the right, which stands in profile to Dexter, carved with semi-circular base, about 1640/45, repaired, fitted into ebonised frame.
See Elisabeth Grunewald, Leonhard Kern, for comparable works of this period. Other models of the same theme are in the Hamburg Museum (1920.49) and Budapest (no. 1645). Probable sources are Rubens Three Graces, Durer’s engravings of The Doctor’s Dream and Four Naked Women and H. S. Behan’s engraving Three Women and Death.
A FLEMISH BAROQUE WOOD CARVING OF ST. BARBARA, holding a gilt palm and with an angel dancing beside her, a tower behind, over painted in white and gold; the back of the Virgin stamped W.P., the side of the base signed ‘W. Pompe Fecit’ on the side and on the front ‘1749 S. Barbara’, (70cm.) probably Flemish, dated 1749, the front of the base with silver mounted reliquary.
The silver reliquary bears an unidentifiable maker’s mark, probably Flemish, 18th Century, and an early 19th Century Dutch control mark.
Walter Pomp, (1703-1777) worked chiefly in Antwerp in terracotta, wood, ivory and stone. The present work which was executed at the age of 46 shows the development of the artist in comparison to his more static sculpture clearly taken from the previous Century under the influence of Duquesne. An example of his earlier work in the Rijksmuseum, a Virgin and Child in terracotta illustrates this point.
A GOOD GERMAN BOXWOOD RELIEF of St. Benno, attributed to Balthasar Permoser, the bishop saint shown seated, his hand raised in blessing, flanked by kneeling putty, one holding a fish which reaches up to the two keys the saint holds, the other holding a crosier, against a background of clouds interspersed with cherubim, surmounted by two putty holding a wreath above the saint’s head, 12in. high (30.5cm.) circa 1695.
Balthasar Permoser was born in 1651 near Salzburg; he went to Italy around 1675, where he worked in Florence and Rome; in 1689 he was called to Dresden as Sculptor to the Electors of Saxony, where he worked most of his life till his death in 1732. His work combines the splendour of gesture and drapery and the curvilinear compositions he had absorbed in Bernini’s Italy with a physical lightness and transparency of the surface in the characteristic bold style, which made him into one of the most important protagonists of Rococo in Germany. Many of his sculptures were used after his death as patterns for porcelain figures by modellers like Johann Joachim Handier in Meissen. See Siegfried Asche, Balthasar Permoser, Berlin 1978, for an ivory relief and two ivory groups by Permoser, for similarities in the treatment of drapery, characteristic contraposition and similar putty and cherubs in a clouded background for a typical composition of saints and putty on the pulpit of the Catholic Court Church at Dresden.
St. Benno was bishop of Meissen from 1066 to 1106; canonised in 1523, his relies came to Munich in 1580, where he is revered as protector of Munich and Upper and Lower Bavaria since.
A TERRAOOTTA FIGURE OF ST. JOSEPH, holding the Christ Child by the hand, well modelled and folded drapery, holding a silver lily, Flemish, circa 1700, over painted.
A RARE FLEMISH OR DUTCH PEARWOOD HOLY WATER STOOP, elaborately carved with Christ baptising the sick and suffering outside the temple, in the foreground a figure stooping to fetch water from the lead-lined stoop surrounded by lizards, frogs and serpents; to the left the Virgin, Child and Infant St. John and in the background classical architecture surrounded by clouds filled with cherubim blowing trumpets and rocks with cascades of water, surrounded by birds, rabbits and children, 20in. high (51cm.) circa 1690.
For a contemporary comparison in Netherlands sculpture see the large wood relief of the Stoning of Stephen in the Victoria and Albert Museum by Grilling Gibbons, who although he spent most of his working life in England, was born in Rotterdam and had his training in Holland. Although the style of the sculpture is different, the figures standing out against the classical architectural background would appear to cornea from the same source: see Margaret Whiney, Sculpture in Britain, 1964.
A GOOD BOXWOOP FIGURE of Hercules and his son Lamus, the naked hero stands leaning against a tree trunk holding the struggling infant, the Nemea lion’s skin draped over his right arm, (19.7cm.) Dutch or Flemish, early 18th Century, on ebonised wood sole.
A GOOD BOXWOOD FIGURE of Omphale, the queen standing naked but for a scant garment draped in intricate folds around her hips and left leg, clasping a bunch of roses to her breast with her left hand, high (19.8cm.) Dutch or Flemish, early 18th Century, on ebonised wood sole.
Carved as a pair to the preceding figure of Hercules.
A POLYCHROME WOOD FIGURE OF ST. LUCY, standing in nun’s garb falling in loose folds, her right hand holding a book, her left outstretched, on marbled stepped base carved with racially ornament, 17in. (43cm.) probably Bavarian, mid-18th Century.
A FRENCH BOXWOOD FIGURE OF VENUS, looking proudly to the left, with hand to her breast, her right hand holding up folds of drapery which fall from a sash over her right Shoulder, (29.8cm.) circa 1690, on wood stand.
Provenance: Baron Gustavo de Rothschild, born 1829
Jacques Heft, circa 1940/50.
A FRENCH PEARWOOD FIGURE of a nude youth, after the antique, looking to the right with left hand out-stretched and drapery over his Shoulder, (28.5cm.) 18th Century, on wood stand.
Provenance: Baron Gustavo de Rothschild Jacques Heft, circa 1940/50.
The present figure, although made in the same style as the previous, has both physiological and sculptural differences which indicate that it may have been made as a companion piece, either in the same Workshop or at a slightly later date. Probable sources are Coysevox’ ‘Castor and Pollux’ and Legros I’s Antinous, both made for the gardens of Versailles.
A FLEMISH ALABASTER OF THE MAGDALEN, kneeling, arms crossed over her heart, looking upwards, her hair elaborately dressed, wearing a coif with a veil and a cloak over her tunic which is gathered up at one side, probably from a Crucifixion group, (38.7cm.) mid-17th century, some fingers damaged.
AN ITALO-FLEMISH ALABASTER FIGURE of a female saint with swirling drapery and supplicating hands, the base inscribed POSUERUT ME, (53.2cm.) circa 1700.
AN ALABASTER FIGURE of an Angel in elaborate stylised robes, holding a corn sheaf cornucopia under his right arm, (38.8cm.) Neapolitan, circa 1700.
A PAIR OF ITALIAN WOOD FIGURES OF ANGELS, both kneeling amidst cloud scrolls, completely over-painted, (90cm.) 17th century, wings lacking.
A MARBLE BUST OF APHRODITE inspired by the antique, her hair neatly piled on her head, on broad shoulders, head detached from shoulders, weathered.
AN ITALIAN GILT WOOD FIGURE of an angel, inspired by Biminis, kneeling on a cloud, the hands crossed over the heart in adoration, clothed in a loosely draped tunic, (80cm.) first quarter 18th century, gilding flaking, wings loose.
A RARE SOUTH ITALIAN ALABASTER GROUP of two men rescuing a woman from a bull, inspired by the Farnese Bull, a naked man at the left holding a rearing bull by a horn and the snout, another at the right pulling at a rope slung around both horns, a woman, bare to the waist, crouching under the raised forelegs of the beast and pushing its left hoof away from her face, a child sitting in front of the rocky base, (43.8cm.) circa 1700, several minor damages and repairs.
The so called ‘Farnese Bull’, a Hellenistic marble group after the original by Apollonius of Tralles (now in the Museo Nazionale, Naples) depicts Amphion and Tethus binding Dirce to the bull, whereas the modeller of the present group interpreted the scene as two men saving a woman from an attacking bull; immediate sources of this alabaster group are probably either the small bronze copies of the Farnese Bull by Antonio Susini (c. 1560 to 1624) or a contemporary engraving of the original marble.
A PAIR OF BAROQUE POLYCHROME LIMEWOOD ANGELS, carved in relief in flight, profuse drapery swirling about them, one with hands clasped to its breast, the other with right hand raised upwards, traces of original polychrome, South German, late 17th Century.
A POLYCHROME LIMEWOOD BUST OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST, head slightly inclined to Dexter, curling hair and beard, shoulders bare, the right partially covered with loose drapery, 13in. high (33cm.) Austrian, second half 18th century.
A SPANISH POLYCHROME AND WOOD FIGURE of a Saint in the white habit of the Order of Mercy, probably St. Carmelo, the bearded saint standing with the model of a chapel on his left arm, his right hand extended, his garments carved in boldly moving folds decorated with richly gilded and stippled ornaments, second half 17th century, on green marbleized base.
A POLYCHROME TERRACOTTA RELIEF of a Bishop Saint, probably St. Vincent, the saint three-quarter length, dressed in pontifical robes, the hands crossed over his heart, glass eyes set into his head, three putty supporting his emblems, two bottles on a book, (24.1cm.) 18th century.
The inset glass eyes as well as the modelling and colour of the figure suggest a Neapolitan origin.
A SPANISH POLYCHROME AND GILT WOOD FIGURE of St. Teresa of Spain (Avila), standing, her hands crossed over her heart, wearing the habit of a Carmelite nun, richly decorated with gilt and polychrome scrolls and flowers, (73cm.) circa 1750, with green marbleized base.
A SPANISH POLYCHROME AND GILT WOOD FIGURE of St. Peter, standing, a key in his left hand, his right hand raised in benediction, dressed in a tiara and richly decorated cope over stole, surplice and tunic, 18th century, minor damages.
A POLYCHROME WOOD FIGURE of a Bishop Saint, Standing, a crosier in his left hand, right hand raised in benediction, clothed in a mitre and a red cope over an Alba, (125.7cm.) Southern France, circa 1700, with low base, some worming and minor damage.
A TYROLEAN FIGURE of a man, probably from the Stations of the Cross, leaning on a diagonal pole, dressed in fancy harness and helmet, (14cm.) mid-18th century.
A BOHEMIAN FRUITWOOD CRUCIFIX FIGURE,
circle of Matthias Bernhard Braun, the dead Christ’s head inclined to Dexter, the folds of His loose peritoneum carved in characteristic angular (37cm.) first half 18th Century, hands and feet slightly damaged, mounted on velvet covered board.
THREE TYROLEAN POLYCHROME WOOD FIGURES of beggars in tattered garb, the two women bent and holding bundles, one facing full front, the other turned to Dexter, the third figure, a man facing sinister holding a hurdy (27.3cm.) late 18th Century.
See Jaromir Neumann, Das Bohmische Barock, Praha 1970 for sculptures by Matthias Bernhard Braun (1684-1738). The sensitivity and expressionism in the representation as well as the bold carving of the peritoneum place the crucifix figure near to Matthias Bernhard Braun, probably to his nephew and pupil, Anton Braun (1709-1742).
A NORTH ITALIAN BOXWOOD RELIEF of the Nativity, Christ in the cradle flanked by the kneeling figure of a shepherd and the Virgin, St. Joseph and another shepherd behind, angels singing above, circa 1680, red velvet frame.
A FLEMISH BAROQUE WALNUT PICTURE OR MIRROR FRAME, the border carved in high relief with scrolling foliage inhabited by winged cherubs, a shell and crown of roses above, a blank cartouche below, second half of 17th Century.
A NETHERLANDISH ALABASTER GROUP of Venus and Cupid, the Goddess reclining, embracing the winged Cupid with her right arm, her nakedness scantily covered by a tunic, 18th Century, with flat oval base.
A FRENCH TERRACOTTA GROUP of two children feeding a cockerel from a basket, two chickens in front, 18th Century style.
AN IVORY WAX PORTRAIT RELIEF of George III, in profile to Dexter, the ribbon of the Garter across his breast, oval, circa 1760, in original ebonised frame, later carved gilt wood surround.
A SIMILAR PORTRAIT RELIEF of Queen Charlotte, in profile to sinister, her hair dressed with pearls, high circa 1760, in original ebonised frame with gilt surround.
A FRENCH TERRACOTTA PORTRAIT MEDALLION, depicting Hiacinthe de Giraud, Comte de Vaudreuil, in profile to sinister, Louis XVI hairstyle and jabot, bears the signature J. B. Nine, and the name of the sitter inside the border, and another, similarly signed, depicting Louis-Nicolas Barnet de Moueny, in numismatic profile to sinister, in wavy moulded border.
H. de Giraud (1740-1817) was known as a dazzling figure of the pre-Revolutionary Paris society and a friend of the Comte d’Artois .(later Charles X)
See Louis XVI, Un moment du perfection de L’Art Francais, for terracotta medallions by J. B. Nini (1717-1786).
A TERRACOTTA FIGURE OF A GIRL, after ‘La Frileuse’. A. Houdon, standing with crossed arms, naked but for a shawl wound around head and Shoulders, with tree-trunk support, early 19th Century, with rectangular base.
The marble figure ‘La Frileuse’ was rejected by the Jurors of the Academia and excluded from the Salon of 1785 ‘on account of its State of false modesty’ (the painter Pierre in a letter to d’Angiviller). D’Angiviller replied: ‘the solution may indeed lie in placing the partly-clothed figure in a corner, thereby screening the areas that should not be exposed’ Riau, ‘Documents sure Houdon’, 1922; H. H. Arnason, ‘The Sculptures of Houdon’, London 1975.
A GOOD WAX PORTRAIT by Samuel Percy of an old man modelled waist length and in high relief, slightly inclined to Dexter wearing a stock and brown frock coat, balding with aquiline nose, draped curtain to one side, signed on the backcloth S. Percy 1811, in glazed, gilt and ebonised wood frame with hanging instructions on the back, Hold the top of the frame parallel to the window than ail the features may catch equal light and shadow, 1811.
E. J. Pike, Wax Modellers p. 103 records that hanging instructions were frequently written in con-temporary handwriting on the back. The signature S. Percy followed by a date is also recorded on two wax portraits by the artist in the Brighton Museum, see E. N. Stratton-Samuel Percy ‘Wax Modeller’ Apollo, March 1961.