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Luigi Bistolfi (Italian, fl. late 19th century): An unusual carved white marble bust entitled 'Compagni Di Sventura!' image 1
Luigi Bistolfi (Italian, fl. late 19th century): An unusual carved white marble bust entitled 'Compagni Di Sventura!' image 2
Luigi Bistolfi (Italian, fl. late 19th century): An unusual carved white marble bust entitled 'Compagni Di Sventura!' image 3
Luigi Bistolfi (Italian, fl. late 19th century): An unusual carved white marble bust entitled 'Compagni Di Sventura!' image 4
Luigi Bistolfi (Italian, fl. late 19th century): An unusual carved white marble bust entitled 'Compagni Di Sventura!' image 5
Luigi Bistolfi (Italian, fl. late 19th century): An unusual carved white marble bust entitled 'Compagni Di Sventura!' image 6
Lot 79TP,W

Luigi Bistolfi (Italian, fl. late 19th century): An unusual carved white marble bust entitled 'Compagni Di Sventura!'

Important Design
5 April 2017, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £12,500 inc. premium

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Luigi Bistolfi (Italian, fl. late 19th century): An unusual carved white marble bust entitled 'Compagni Di Sventura!'

depicting a young girl holding a chimpanzee, signed to one shoulder LUIGI BISTOLFI SC. ROMA and raised on moulded grey marble square socle with inscribed title COMPAGNI DI SVENTURA!', together with a matching grey marble shallow square plinth and a white and rouge marble sectional dwarf column pedestal,
the bust, 74cm high, the square plinth, 7cm high, the pedestal, 53cm high

Footnotes

The fascination for exotic pets, particularly monkeys as companions in the popular arts was an enduring theme in Europe from the 16th century onwards. By the close of the 19th century general advancements in the zoological identification of primates in the far outreaches of the Africa, Asia and South America led to the general public being both aware and well able to recognise and identify the species of not only monkeys but of apes, gorillas, chimpanzees and orangutans.
The French animalier sculptor Emmanuel Frémiet (1824-1910) particularly specialised in depicting the extreme behaviour of these primates, most noticeably of apes and orangutans with his near barbaric sculptures of 'Gorilla Carrying of a Woman' in 1887 and 'Borneo Savage' of 1895 which was commissioned by the Paris Museum of Natural History.
However a more sentimentalised depiction was also fashionable (and perhaps more acceptable for a domestic setting) and the current lot, showing a young girl and her mischievous companion, could have possibly be created by the sculptor to commemorate the opening of the 'Bioparco di Roma' in 1911 which was Romes first zoological garden located in the grounds of the Villa Borgehese estate.
Unlike other European city zoos which were created for the advancement of scientific research, Rome's zoo was designed for the entertainment and amusement of the people and this ideology can be seen in the whimsical approach to the subject matter of the current lot.

Additional information

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