An Italian bronze group of a boy carried by a dolphin, late 17th century

on modern wooden base

Dark green lacquer over brown-red patina. Minor rubbing, some small pits and visible plugs.
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The only other known version of this bronze group is in the Museo Civico di Schifanoia, Ferrara, (inv. C.G.F. 8468), where it has been traditionally ascribed to François Dusquesnoy and dated circa 1630 but was rejected by Boudon-Machuel in her monograph François Duquesnoy in 2005.

A 16th century marble group of similar subject matter is in the Hermitage, St. Petersburg attributed to Lorenzetto (see S. Androsov, Museo Statale Ermitage, la scultura italiana dal XIV a XVI secolo, Milan 2008, no. 58, pp. 72 and 73). The unusual subject comes from a story by the classical poet Aelian telling of the friendship between a boy and a dolphin; while the pair are playing together in the sea, the boy is accidentally killed by the dolphin's dorsal fin.  The dolphin, distraught by the loss of his beloved companion, beaches himself on the shore with the mortally wounded boy on his back.  Several copies of the Cavaceppi group were later commissioned by British noblemen from the sculptor Joseph Nollekens.

RELATED LITERATURE

R. Varese (ed.), Plachette e bronzi nelle Civiche Collezioni, (exh. cat.), Ferrara, 1974, p. 176, no. 166