Francesco Bertos (attributed to) (1678 – 1741)

Francesco Bertos (attributed to) The Drunken Silenus Model and Cast: Venice, Italy, early 18th century Bronze 24.7 x 22.5 cm This finely detailed bronze has only very recently been recognized as very probably the work of Francesco Bertos, who produced some of the most extraordinary, even eccentric, but virtuosic sculptures of the 18th century. It … Read more

Unrecorded Italian Artist (possibly late 19th century)

Unrecorded Italian Artist Hercules and a Dragon Possibly Italian, possibly late 19th century Wax and cartapesta (papier mâché) 28.4 cm high This curious sculpture entered the collection, at great cost, as the work of the Florentine Renaissance sculptor Giovanni Francesco Rustici (1475-1554). Recent research has raised suspicions that it is neither by him nor even … Read more

Unrecorded Italian Artist (16th century)

Unrecorded Italian Artist A Roman Soldier on Horseback Probably North Italian, early 16th century, or later Bronze, with wooden pedestal 26.4 x 25.6 cm The horse, with its hogged mane and dressed forelock, is based on the second of the four celebrated classical Horses of St Mark’s, Venice. These inspired many small copies during the … Read more

Unrecorded Italian Artist (19th/20th century)

Unrecorded Italian Artist Bust of a Youth (St John the Baptist?) Florence, late 19th or early 20th century, in the style of about 1500 Terracotta, polychromed 43.1 x 46.4 x 15.5 cm Although probably made considerably later, as a pastiche, this work reflects the popularity for such terracotta busts in Renaissance Florence. It is based … Read more

Unrecorded Italian Artist (15th/16th century)

Unrecorded Italian Artist A Female Saint Perhaps Siena, Italy, late 15th century or early 16th century Marble 50.3 x 19 x 10 cm This gracefully swaying figure, whose eyes are raised to heaven, wears a wimpled head-dress that frames her head. She once held a martyr’s palm branch in her right hand, and probably a … Read more

Unrecorded Indian Artist (15th-16th century)

Unrecorded Indian Artist Shiva Nataraja, Lord of the Dance Vijayanagar, South India, probably 15th-16th century Bronze 78 x 69.2 x 24 cm The Hindu deity performs the mystic Dance of Creation. In the waving locks of his braided hair is the mermaid figure of Ganga. In his right ear is a man’s earring and in … Read more

Unrecorded German Artist (16th century)

Unrecorded German Artist St Catherine of Alexandria (?) Germany, probably Swabia, about 1520 Wood, polychromed and gilded 71.1 cm high This crowned figure with a book most likely represents the legendary Christian virgin-martyr St Catherine of Alexandria, patron saint of teachers and librarians. She was said to be a beautiful learned woman of royal birth, … Read more

Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault (1791 – 1824)

Jean Louis André Théodore Géricault Anatomical Model of a Horse  Model: Paris, about 1820-24; Cast: Paris, 1959 (number 3 of 20) Bronze 22.8 x 21.7 x 11 cm Greatly attracted to equine subjects, Géricault may have made the original wax model of a partly flayed horse to help accurately represent its anatomy in his paintings … Read more

Unrecorded French Artist (15th century)

Unrecorded French Artist A Woman Mourning France, 15th century Marble 14.8 x 4.5 x 4 cm Plinth: 5.8 x 5.7 x 5 cm A woman, standing, clasps her hands tightly around her heavily draped body. She peers out from under her headdress with a sombre expression and slightly pursed lips. This small figure was probably part of a … Read more

Unrecorded Flemish Artist (16th century)

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 (15th century)

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

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi (Donatello) (1386 – 1466)

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

Unrecorded Chinese artist (20th century)

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) (1529 – 1608)

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) (active 1572 – 1624), and possibly Gianfrancesco Susini (cast) (c.1575 – 1653)

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

Giovanni Bologna (Giambologna) (1529 – 1608)

Giovanni Bologna (Giambologna) Hercules Wielding his Club Model: Florence, Italy, early 1580s; Cast: probably France or Italy, mid-17th century (unknown foundry) Bronze 41.3 cm Giambologna trained in the Southern Netherlands before moving to Florence to work for the Medici, where he became the leading sculptor in Italy. He made many models for small bronze sculptures, … Read more

Antonie-Louis Barye (1796 – 1875)

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 (1796 – 1875)

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

Unrecorded English Artist (16th century)

Unrecorded English Artist Saint James the Great Midlands, probably Nottingham, about 1500 Alabaster, with traces of gilding and polychromy (coloured paint) 39.7 x 16.7 x 5.2 cm Saint James the Great, a fisherman, was one of the first Disciples of Jesus, who called him from the seashore. He is identifiable by his broad-brimmed hat adorned … Read more

Philip Galle (1537-1612)

Philip Galle The Story of the Prodigal Son – The Prodigal Son Leaving His Father’s House Netherlands, 1562 Engraving This is the first in a series of six engravings based on the story of the Prodigal Son from the New Testament (Luke 15). It tells a moral tale of adolescent rebellion in which the son … Read more

Conrad Martin Metz (1749-1827)

The Death of the Children of Niobe Rome, 1820 Pen and brown ink and wash, heightened with white 454 x 684 mm Metz lived in Rome from 1801 until his death in 1827. This highly-worked presentation drawing treats the slaughter of Niobe’s seven sons and seven daughters by Apollo and Diana, a subject from Ovid … Read more