Skip to main content
Bonhams
Search

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

A Jacobite concealed portrait snuff box18th century
A 15th century carved limestone figure of St George

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

A Derby centrepieceCirca 1765
A pair of mid 16th century Italian patinated and parcel gilt bronze angel candlesticks Probably Tuscan and in the manner of Domenico Becafumi (1484-1551)
A Renaissance Florentine panel woven in silks and metal threadMid 15th century, probably for a Dalmatic garment
A 16th century tapestry fragment Formerly part of a larger tapestry in Gerona Cathedral
A set of three Holkham Pottery wine jugs Third quarter 20th century
An extremely rare early 17th century Dutch black, red and gilt japanned casketProbably attributable to Willem Kick (Dutch, 1579-1647)
A carved limestone bust of a kingProbably late 14th/early 15th century, and later
A rare and impressive Charles II leaded bronze 'York' mortar Made for Roger Warde, apothecary, and dated 1684, together with a large associated cast iron pestle
A collection of four commemorative glass bowls and plates including for the Coronation of King George VI Second quarter 20th century and earlier
A late 18th/early 19th century Italian relief carved and part stained wood oval profile portrait plaque depicting a classical warrior maiden, perhaps Minerva Possibly attributable to the workshop of Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo (Italian, 1745–1820)
Of Grand Tour interest: A collection of six trays of 19th century plaster intagliosProbably from the workshop of Pietro Paoletti (Rome, 1801-1847)
Francesco Righetti I (Italian, 1738-1819): A patinated bronze figure of the Apollo BelvedereAfter the antique, Roman, the cast dated 1787
After Pierre Lepautre (French, 1659-1744) and François Girardon (French, 1628-1714): A patinated bronze figural group of 'Aeneas carrying Anchises'French, probably first half early 19th century
A rare French gilt copper and champlevé enamel crozier finial depicting St Michael slaying the devil as a dragon Limoges, 1220-1230
A rare French gilt copper and champlevé enamel book or Evangeliary cover depicting the Crucifixion Limoges, circa 1190-1200
A white metal shell and dolphin salt given to Lady Glenconner by Princess Margaret
A French gilt copper and champleve enamel oval plaque of the angelLimoges, 19th century
A pair of mother of pearl, yellow metal and gem-set dishes given to Lady Glenconner by Imelda Marcos during a visit to the Philippines
An early 19th century satin-birch, 'mulberry wood', ebonised and mother of pearl vanity and sewing box
A French second half 19th century red stained tortoiseshell, cut brass inlaid and gilt metal mounted 'Boulle' casket Circa 1870
Sir Alfred Gilbert, M.V.O., R.A (British 1854-1934): a patinated bronze figure of 'An Offering to Hymen'
A silvered bronze cockatoo Early 20th century, probably Austrian
Previous Lot
Next Lot
Lot 5

Follower of Michelangelo, possibly by Jacopo del Duca, Roman (c. 1520-1604), late 16th century
Pax with the Pietà and God the Father

Sculpture
15 April 2008, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £4,800 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Sculpture and Works of Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Follower of Michelangelo, possibly by Jacopo del Duca, Roman (c. 1520-1604), late 16th century
Pax with the Pietà and God the Father

gilt-bronze, in an aedicular frame, 11.4cmcm wide, 4.5cm deep, 16.7cm high (4in wide, 1.5in deep, 6.5in high)

Footnotes

Literature:
W. Wixom, Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections, exh. cat., The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio, 1975, no. 140 (for best discussion in English and extensive list of other casts with relevant literature); M. Leithe-Jasper, Italienische Kleinplastiken Zeichnungen und Musik der Renaissance, exh. cat., Schloss Schallaburg, Austria, 1976, no. 291; D. Banzato and F. Pellegrini, Musei Civici di Padova, Bronzi e placchette, Padua, 1989, no. 57; J. Montagu, Gold, Silver and Bronze, Metal Sculpture of the Roman Baroque, New Haven / London, 1996, pp. 19-28, figs. 30-35; s.v., The Dictionary of Art, London, 1996, vol. 9, pp. 338-40.

This is an excellently cast and chased example of a significant High Renaissance composition with its original, integrally cast, sinuous and foliate handle behind, which, like the reverse, is economically devoid of gilding.

As noted by Wixom, “The composition itself is a variant of several which appear in a variety of engravings, paintings and relief sculptures listed in full by Charles de Tolnay (“Michelangelo’s Pietà Composition for Vittoria Colonna”, in Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, XII, 1953, PP. 44-62). These works all depend upon one of two drawings of the Pieta which Michelangelo (1475-1564) had presented late in life to Vittoria Colonna, the Marchesa of Pescara (see also C. de Tolnay, Michelangelo: V. The Final Period, Princeton, 1960, pp. 61-64, 194-95, no. 197).The original… is the beautiful drawing in the Isabella Stewart GardnerMuseum”.

The proto-Baroque aedicule forming the frame is also derived from Michelangelo’s designs for the Porta Pia in Rome of 1561 (see Wixom for precise details). In view of these sources, it seems perverse of catalogue writers after Wixom not to have followed him in attributing the production of this type of Pax to Rome and to have been led astray by place names such as Macerata and Brescia that are inscribed in connection with donors on other examples. More relevant is a fine example in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1991.413), which – uniquely- has an oval relief of St Peter in the lower section of the frame and is inscribed SOCIETAS S. PETRI, also supports this place of origin (although admittedly the name of such a confraternity need not be limited to the Basilica in Rome).

The likeliest candidate for the authorship of the plaquette is Jacopo del Duca, who in 1562 was helping Michelangelo with the Porta Pia and - after the death of the great artist in 1564 – was in the process of creating a sacramental tabernacle to his designs. Its sides were cast with reliefs in bronze, one of which depicts the Pietà after the same series of late drawings [Fig. 1]. Jacopo’s brother, Ludovico (fl. 1551-1601), followed the same design for a gilded relief on a tabernacle that he made for the Sistine Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore (see Montagu, 1996). Their workshop may well have made a sideline by manufacturing serially such Paxes, as well as secular reliefs, such as a well-known type of lock-plate, for marriage-chests of Roman families (see lot 1).

Additional information

Bid now on these items

A Jacobite concealed portrait snuff box18th century
A 15th century carved limestone figure of St George
A Derby centrepieceCirca 1765
A pair of mid 16th century Italian patinated and parcel gilt bronze angel candlesticks Probably Tuscan and in the manner of Domenico Becafumi (1484-1551)
A Renaissance Florentine panel woven in silks and metal threadMid 15th century, probably for a Dalmatic garment
A 16th century tapestry fragment Formerly part of a larger tapestry in Gerona Cathedral
A set of three Holkham Pottery wine jugs Third quarter 20th century
An extremely rare early 17th century Dutch black, red and gilt japanned casketProbably attributable to Willem Kick (Dutch, 1579-1647)
A carved limestone bust of a kingProbably late 14th/early 15th century, and later
A rare and impressive Charles II leaded bronze 'York' mortar Made for Roger Warde, apothecary, and dated 1684, together with a large associated cast iron pestle
A collection of four commemorative glass bowls and plates including for the Coronation of King George VI Second quarter 20th century and earlier
A late 18th/early 19th century Italian relief carved and part stained wood oval profile portrait plaque depicting a classical warrior maiden, perhaps Minerva Possibly attributable to the workshop of Giuseppe Maria Bonzanigo (Italian, 1745–1820)
Of Grand Tour interest: A collection of six trays of 19th century plaster intagliosProbably from the workshop of Pietro Paoletti (Rome, 1801-1847)
Francesco Righetti I (Italian, 1738-1819): A patinated bronze figure of the Apollo BelvedereAfter the antique, Roman, the cast dated 1787
After Pierre Lepautre (French, 1659-1744) and François Girardon (French, 1628-1714): A patinated bronze figural group of 'Aeneas carrying Anchises'French, probably first half early 19th century
A rare French gilt copper and champlevé enamel crozier finial depicting St Michael slaying the devil as a dragon Limoges, 1220-1230
A rare French gilt copper and champlevé enamel book or Evangeliary cover depicting the Crucifixion Limoges, circa 1190-1200
A white metal shell and dolphin salt given to Lady Glenconner by Princess Margaret
A French gilt copper and champleve enamel oval plaque of the angelLimoges, 19th century
A pair of mother of pearl, yellow metal and gem-set dishes given to Lady Glenconner by Imelda Marcos during a visit to the Philippines
An early 19th century satin-birch, 'mulberry wood', ebonised and mother of pearl vanity and sewing box
A French second half 19th century red stained tortoiseshell, cut brass inlaid and gilt metal mounted 'Boulle' casket Circa 1870
Sir Alfred Gilbert, M.V.O., R.A (British 1854-1934): a patinated bronze figure of 'An Offering to Hymen'
A silvered bronze cockatoo Early 20th century, probably Austrian