Italian, probably Florence, 16th century

Kunstkammer, Basel (18th century inventory);

The Margraves and Grand Dukes of Baden;

Their sale, Sotheby's, Baden-Baden, vol. II, Kunstkammer, 5 October 1995, lot 325;

Sotheby's, London, 4 December 2018, lot 58;

Where acquired by the present owner

The present model appears to be a variant of a Jupiter(?) of which there are versions in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (inv. no. WA 2003.218) and the former French Royal Collection in the Louvre (inv. no. OA 9444). The present bronze differs from these in its modelling, the inclusion of a laurel wreath, and the positioning of the left arm. There is a broad consensus that the model is Italian (either Florentine or northern) and likely based on an ancient prototype. The present bronze further relates to bronzes by Baccio Bandinelli, notably his Hercules with the Apples of the Hesperides in the Museo del Bargello, Florence, which substantiates a Florentine origin. 

RELATED LITERATURE

L. Planiscig, Piccoli Bronzi Italiani del Rinascimento, Milan, 1930, fig. 317; J. Warren, Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture: A Catalogue of the Collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, vol. I, Sculptures in Metal, pp. 276-279, no. 71