Attributed to Giacomo Antonio Ponsonelli (1654-1735) Northern Italian, early 18th century

Overall the condition of e marble is good, with minor wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There is some veining to the marble consistent with the material, including to the proper right side of the face, the forehead, the neck, and the proper left shoulder. There are a few small naturally occurring inclusions, including to the nose and the proper right cheek. There are some light abrasions at high points, including a fold of drapery at the front around the proper left side of the chest and the proper left ear. There are some very minor chips and abrasions to the truncation at the bottom. There are a few light scratches, including to the proper left shoulder. There are some chips and abrasions to the tears. The pedesta is in good condition with minor wear to the edges and corners and some nicks and scratches, in particular to the bottom section.
"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 powerful bust represents Heraclitus (circa 535-475 BCE), the so-called 'weeping philosopher' of Grecian antiquity who led a hermetic existence and proposed the notions of universal flux and the unity of opposites. The marble was almost certainly paired with a figure of Democritus (circa 160-370 BCE), the famous 'laughing philosopher' of Grecian antiquity, who first argued for an atomic theory of the universe. The pairing is seen frequently in early 18th-century sculpture, as it permitted Baroque sculptors to represent the contrasting extremes of human emotion.

The present marble relates to a bust of Mars in the Liechtenstein collection, Vaduz (inv. no. 9) and another of Venus in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no. RF3649), which was donated by the celebrated 20th-century London art dealer Count André Ciechanowiecki. The latter bears the signature IAC. Ano PONZANELLI, establishing the authorship without doubt, and it has been suggested that the two were conceived as a pair (Armani and Galassi, op. cit., p. 236). Ponsonelli, a pupil of the Genoese sculptor Filippo Parodi (1630-1702), worked in Genoa, Venice and Padua, but had numerous foreign patrons. One of the most significant was Prince Johann Adam Andreas von Liechtenstein (1662-1712), who commissioned three pairs of mythological busts and two statues of Venus for the Liechtenstein Garden Palace in Vienna. The present bust bears striking parallels to the Liechtenstein and Louvre busts, not least in the extraordinary sideways sweep of drapery which runs across the chest and wraps around the left shoulder. The open-mouthed expression and the curling locks of hair recall those of the younger Mars, whilst we see the same interest in texture in the wrinkled brow, drilled beard, and skeletal chest. Given the first rate quality of the carving, and the sense of pathos embodied in the present bust, it is possible that it may be one of the lost marbles commissioned by the Prince of Liechtenstein. As is noted above, the bust would almost certainly have had a pair, given that the weeping Heraclitus is usually presented with his opposite, the laughing Democritus.

The influence of Ponsonelli's great master, Parodi, is seen in the love of texture, and the pathetic expression, recalling the St John the Baptist in the Basilica di N.S. Assunta di Carignano, Genoa (1677; Armani and Galassi, op. cit., p. 147, fig. 170). However, Ponsonelli developed his own, idiosyncratic format for mythological busts, characterised by the great Rococo sweeps of drapery, which are reminiscent of Bernini's bust of Louis XIV at Versailles (1665; inv. no. MV2040). The sale of the present bust marks a rare opportunity to acquire an important and dramatic Rococo bust attributed to Ponsonelli.

RELATED LITERATURE
Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections, exh. cat., Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985, pp. 26-28, no. 17; E. P. Armani and M. C. Galassi, La scultura a Genova e in Liguria dal seicento al primo novecento, Genoa, 1988, pp. 147, 236, fig. 170; G. Bresc-Bautier, Les sculptures européennes du musée du Louvre, cat. musée du Louvre, Paris, p. 183