A SOUTH GERMAN ROCOCO CARVED LIMESTONE FOUNTAIN Possibly Bamberg, circle of Ferdinand Tietz, mid-18th century

A bench by Ferdinand Tietz carved with comparable satyr is illustrated: Bernard Wolfgang Lindeman, Ferdinand Tietz, 1708-1777, Wiessenhorn, 1989, pl. 318 and 319.  A related bench with comparable carved satyr, originally from Schloss Seehof, Bamberg, the summer residence of the Bishops of Seinsheim, has been sold: Sotheby's London, December 2, 2008, lot 147.  The naturalistically carved stalactites so characteristic of his work are illustrated by Lindemann, op. cit., pl. 229.

The carving of this sculptural arcade, with its large scrolls of various shapes, its sculptural silhouette and asymetric rocaille and putto, is a remarkable example of the exuberant Franconian Rococo.

Ferdinand Tietz, an Austrian sculptor, active mainly in Germany, first worked with his brother in the sculpture workshop of his father, Johann Adam Tietz, who was the sculptor of Prince Lobkowitz. Later on, he worked for the Prague sculptor Mattias Bernard Braun and was influenced by the work of the Italian sculptor Lorenzo Mattielli (1678-1748), who supplied statuary for palaces and churches in Vienna and Dresden and for the monastery of Melk. In 1736, Ferdinand Tietz started working for Balthazar Neumann at the Würzburg Residenz. It helped him to further orders in five princely seats: Bamberg (1749-1754), Würzburg (1736-1745), Trier (from 1754), Speyer and Cologne. In 1760, Tietz went to Bamberg and served as court sculptor under six bishops, including three from the house of Schönborn. Tietz's work includes a significant number of sculptures, of which some are now in museums in Würzburg and Nuremberg. The garden sculptures in the garden of the Palace of Veiltshöchsheim and in Seehof Palace at Bamberg are regarded as Tietz's major works. For Schloss Seehof and the residence garden in Bamberg, he created some 420 pieces: figures, animals and fountains.

This work will be exhibited on-site in Beverly Hills, California from April 14-April 18, 2012.  Interested parties who wish to view the work should contact the department at (212) 606-7285 to schedule an appointment.