Unrecorded Flemish Artist The Meeting of Joachim and Anna at the Golden Gate Brussels, Belgium, about 1500 Wood (oak) 55.9 x 40.3 cm The subject of the Meeting of Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Virgin Mary, comes from The Golden Legend (CXXIX). Their gestures of greeting are an unusual way of representing the … Read more
Unrecorded English Artist The Coronation of the Virgin Nottingham, England, about 1400 (frame later) Alabaster relief, polychromed (painted in colours) and gilded 103 x 58.5 x 17.8 cm The Virgin Mary, crowned as the Queen of Heaven, is seated on a throne next to Christ. His left hand rests on an orb, symbolising his dominion … Read more
Unrecorded Artist The Head of Amenhotep III Probably Paris, 1930s Gabbro (rock), with traces of paint 60 x 46.5 cm When acquired, this head was thought to have formed part of a full-length statue of the pharaoh Amenhotep the Third who ruled Egypt for forty years at the end of the 14th century BC. He … Read more
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (Donatello) An Angel Playing an Aulos (Flute) Model: Padua, Italy, 1447; Cast: perhaps Italy, late 19th century Bronze 58 x 21.9 x 3.5 cm Donatello’s status as a pioneering sculptor of the 15th century was firmly established within his own lifetime. This relief, a simplified copy of one of … Read more
Jules Dalou The Hunter (Le Chasseur) Model: Paris, about 1898; Cast: Paris, early 1900s Bronze 63.9 x 35.5 x 28 cm This is one of ten casts after a model for a three metre high sculptural group intended for the stairwell of the duc de Gramont’s country house. The figure’s pose is based on a … Read more
Unrecorded Chinese artist The Head of a Boddhisattva Probably China, early 20th century Limestone, with traces of paint 58.4 cm high When acquired this was thought to be a fragment of a full-length colossal statue made for a Buddhist temple in China in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). A Bodhisattva is someone who has reached … Read more
Giovanni Bologna (Giambologna) Allegorical Figure of Astronomy (Venus Urania) Model: Florence, about 1573; Cast: probably French or Italian early/mid-17th century Bronze, with marble base 35 x 11 x 10 cm Plinth: 9.5 x 14.5 x 14.5 cm The prime, gilt, cast of Giambologna’s much-copied ‘Astronomy’ (Vienna) was made in about 1573, and is of superlative … Read more
Antonio Susini (model), and possibly Gianfrancesco Susini (cast) A Bull Model: Florence, early 1580s; Cast: Florence, early 17th century Bronze 23 x 27.2 x 8.5 cm Bulls were revered since antiquity for their strength and fertilising power. After horses, they were the most popular animal subject during the 17th century. Antonio Susini is thought to … Read more
Antonie-Louis Barye Theseus Combating the Centaur Biénor Model: Paris, about 1846-48; Cast: probably Paris, late 19th century Bronze 34.3 x 37.7 x 9 cm Plinth: 4 x 39.3 x 14 cm The mythical hero Theseus clubs to death Biénor, one of the centaurs who had tried to carry off the brides at the wedding of … Read more
Antonie-Louis Barye Indian Panther Model: Paris, 1840; Cast: probably Paris, late 19th century Bronze 7.3 x 18.5 x 6 cm Barye was the foremost of a group of 19th-century French sculptors who specialised in small bronzes of animal subjects. They exploited newly developed techniques of mass reproduction to generate numerous casts of their models for … Read more
Antonie-Louis Barye Tiger Walking (Tigre Qui Marche) Model: Paris, 1836; Cast: probably Paris, late 19th century Bronze 21.3 x 42.3 x 7.4 cm Plinth: 6.5 x 43 cm Barye was the foremost of a group of 19th-century French sculptors who specialised in small bronzes of animal subjects. They exploited newly developed techniques of mass reproduction … Read more
John Nost II King George I on Horseback London, 1717 Bronze 290 x 278.5 cm The City of Dublin commissioned this impressive sculpture from the Nost family workshop in 1717 for £1500 and completed by 1722, with the horse cast from moulds taken from Le Sueur’s Charles I at Charing Cross. At risk of destruction … Read more
