Attributed to Dio Claudio Beissonat (active second half 17th century) Italian, Naples, late 17th century

together with a further, ivory base from Mentmore Towers
the underside with three old paper labels respectively inscribed in pencil: 1587 ink: 357 and stamped: 139056

Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire, by 1884
by descent to Albert Edward Harry Meyer Archibald Primrose, 6th Earl of Rosebery and 2nd Earl of Midlothian, Mentmore Towers, Buckinghamshire
his sale, Sotheby's, Mentmore, 18 May 1977, lot 1869
Sotheby's London, 22 April 1986, lot 202
on loan to Museum Schnütgen, Cologne, September 2009 to December 2012

Mentmore, London, 1884, vol. II, p. 76, no. 15

Overall the condition of the ivory is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are a few losses, in particular to the top of the feather above the head, and to the edges of the drapery, including to the bottom of the proper right sleeve. A section of the proper left foot is reattached. The proper right heel is restored (the original heel is detached and is sold with this lot). There is stable hairline splitting consistent with the material, including to the face and to the front and back of the drapery. The bars forming the visor of the helmet are carved separately and there is a small hole to the top of the helmet. The revolving base appears to be contemporary with the figure. It is in good condition; there are three holes to the top. There is minor stable splitting to the ivory base consistent with the material.There are three old labels to the underside of the base respectively numbered: 139056, 1587, 357.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This charming figure of a Moor compares closely with the work of the celebrated Neapolitan ivory carver, Dio Claudio Beissonat. The stylised frayed edges of the drapery are directly comparable with those seen on the clothing of an ivory figure of St. Joseph signed by Beissonat in the Museo Arqueológico in Madrid (Estella, 2011, op. cit., fig. 5). Note also the remarkably similar large ears with their thick edges, the pierced eyes, the carefully delineated set of teeth, and the oversized hands.

The Moor is clearly a loyal attendant to a knight or king on horseback. He delicately holds an elaborate plumed helmet, whilst staring upwards in awe at the figure he is attending, his pose slightly stooped, as if about to bow. Significantly, two lots before the present ivory in the Mentmore sale, there was an ivory equestrian group of Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria (1628-1662) by Beissonat, which was signed: Dio. Cl. Beissonat F. This group is today believed to represent King Charles II of Spain (1661-1700) and to have been inspired by Giacomo Serpotta's (1656-1732) equestrian statue of the monarch in Palermo (destroyed 1848). Beissonat's statuette stands at 37cm (41½in.) in height to the Moor's 23.5cm (9¼in.). Given the relative sizes, the shared provenance and the closeness of the present ivory to Beissonat's work, it seems likely that the two were conceived together as a group, with the young Moor tentatively walking up to his sovereign to hand him his helmet.

Moors had been a focus of interest to sculptors in Italy from the 16th century onwards. Nicolas Cordier (c. 1567-1612), the French sculptor active in Rome around 1600, had carved a number of representations of Moors from black marble, including the superb Il Moro in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no. MR303). Beissonat's contemporary Balthasar Permoser (1651-1732) created numerous statuettes of Moors, including an extraordinary Moorish attendant in pear wood with bejewelled mounts by Johann Melchior Dinglinger (1664-1731), in the Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden (inv. no. VIII 303). The present Moor, with his round face and cropped hair, is perhaps most reminiscent of a beautiful marble bust of a Moor in the Saint Louis Art Museum by Melchior Barthel (1625-1672), a German sculptor active in Italy (inv. no. 54:1990).

Representations of Moors were popular with European elites throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, because they conveyed a sense of exoticism. This rare and beautiful ivory would have appealled particularly to aristocratic patrons because of the playful inversion of the notions of skin colour and ethnicity in carving a black man from white ivory. This conceit, together with fine quality of the workmanship, most evident in the differing textures on display, would have meant that the present ivory would have been especially treasured by the patron who was fortunate enough to commission it.

RELATED LITERATURE
M. M. Estella Marcos, La escultura barocca de marfil en España. Las escuelas Europeas y las coloniales, Madrid, 1984, p. 73, no. 106, fig. 108; M. Estella, 'Esculturas italianas de marfil en España de los siglos XVI al XVIII con nuevas noticias sobre Gualterio, Beissonat y Caffieri', R. Marth and M. Trusted (eds.), Festschrift für Christian Theuerkauff. Barocke Kunststückh, Munich, 2011, pp. 22-29, fig. 5