Giacomo Zoffoli (1745-1805) Italian, Rome, 18th century

The figure of Apostle Peter in the Vatican, seated on a throne, is one of the few surviving monumental bronze statues from the Middle Ages. Holding the symbolic keys in his left hand and giving a blessing with his right, the bronze was originally made for the apse of the oratory of San Martino (c. 1290) by the sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio. From 1605 it was placed in front of the first column on the right of the dome in St Peter's. Bernini later designed a magnificent gilded bronze throne as a shrine to encase this venerated relic, the chair from which, by tradition, Saint Peter himself had preached.

The fashion for reproductions of the most famous antique models in Italy developed in the 18th century, intended for wealthy European customers wishing to bring back a souvenir of the Grand Tour. The brothers and bronziers Giovanni and Giacomo Zoffoli were based in Rome during the second half of the 18th century and gained a reputation by reproducing the very high quality bronze statuettes, particularly made for Grand Tourists. In 1795 the brothers published a catalogue of the fifty-nine models available for purchase, a copy of which is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London which was not accessible while writing this entry.

The monumental statue of St. Peter has been one of the most venerated bronzes in Rome for centuries, as evidenced by the rubbed extended foot of the figure, and no other copies of it by Giacomo Zoffoli appear to exist. 

RELATED LITERATURE

H. Honour, 'Bronze statuettes by Giacomo & Giovanni Zoffoli' in Connoisseur, CXLVIII, 1961, pp. 194-200