Francesco Fanelli (1577-after 1642), Anglo-Italian, 17th century

Horse and Lion inscribed: y horse x Lyon

Sotheby's New York, 1 June 1991, lot 100

Overall the condition of the bronze is good. There is some minor wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age. There are a few minor areas of greening. The St George has joints visible at both hind legs of the horse and St George's proper left arm. There are a few small lacunae, including one to the dragon's proper left foreleg and one to St George's proper left inner arm, filled with wax. There are a few minor nicks, including on top of the helmet and at the proper left shoulder blade. Two drilled holes in the base have been patched with wax. There is some minor wear to the surface of the base and the gilding of its mounts. There are some minor, stable fissures to the metalwork. One of the feet at the back has a loss to the top and is slightly loose. With the Horse and Lion there is a joint visible at the proper left hind leg of the lion. There is a small stable fissure to the proper left hind leg of the horse. Two drilled holes in the base have been patched with wax. There is some minor wear to the surface and gilding of the metalwork on the base. Both back legs of the base are slightly loose. There is a loss to the back leg on the proper right side.
"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."

Francesco Fanelli's equestrian bronzes were highly celebrated in seventeenth-century England. George Vertue wrote that 'he had a particular genius for these works and was much esteemd in K Charles I time – and afterwards.' Fanelli's bronzes were instrumental in establishing the vogue for baroque sculpture in England. According to Abraham van der Doort's 1639 inventory of the Royal Collection, Charles I owned five statuettes by Fanelli, including 'a little S George on horseback with a dragon by.' The present bronzes, with their ornate 17^th-century English bases, provide excellent illustrations of the superb decorative qualities for which Fanelli's statuettes were so appreciated.

The rarer of the two bronzes is the Lion attacking a horse. It is the only known example of this composition without the Turkish rider. The lion pelt on the back of the rearing horse suggests the horse from another one of Fanelli's equestrian groups, Cupid astride a horse, was employed to create this variant.

St George and the Dragon exists in two principal compositions. The present bronze is taken from the first, in which Fanelli adapted his model of the Leaping Horse, a work which can be indentified by its extended hind legs and pronounced twist of the head. St George leans backwards and is represented with both hands gripping the lance. Examples of this first type are in the V&A [Inv. no. A.5-1953] and at Welbeck Abbey, with slight variations (op.cit. Pope-Hennessy, p. 169, fig. 195). In his second variant of the subject of St George, Fanelli used his model of the Rearing Horse, where the saint leans forward, grasping the reigns of the horse with one hand, while lancing the dragon with the other. A cast of this model is in the Holburne Museum, Bath (op.cit. Pope-Hennessy, p. 169, n. 23, fig. 193). 

RELATED LITERATURE
J. Pope-Hennessy, 'Some Bronzes by Francesco Fanelli', Essays on Italian Sculpture, London, 1968, pp. 166-71; P. Wengraf, 'Francesco Fanelli & Sons in Italy and London, on a Grander scale', European Bronzes from the Quentin Collection, exh. cat. The Frick Collection, New York, 2004, pp. 30-53; S. Stock, 'Fanelli, Francesco (b. 1577),' in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford, 2004, online edn, Jan 2008; B. Van Beneden and N. de Poorter, Royalist Refugees. William and Margaret Cavendish in the Rubens House 1648-1660, exh. cat. Rubenshuis, Antwerp, 2006, pp. 198-199, no. 59