Workshop of Girolamo Campagna (1549-1625) Italian, Venice, late 16th/ early 17th century

Dr. Max Emden, Hamburg
his sale, P. Graupe and H. Ball, 3-8 June 1931, lot 105
Peel & Humphris, Ltd., London
J.J. Klejman, New York
private collection, New York
by whom sold, New York, Sotheby's, 8 June 2007, lot 438

Overall the condition of the bronze is good. There is some minor wear and dirt to the surface consistent with age including rubbing to the gilding consistent with handling. There is some minor pitting to the surface and there are two small drilled holes to the shell.
"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."

Two other casts of this model, both not gilt and seemingly unfinished,  are in the Capodimonte Museum, Naples and one was once in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, according to Bode (op.cit.). The present gilt cast is fully chased and tooled and seems to be one of the finer examples of the model. The variant with the younger, kneeling, rather than the older standing, man bearing the shell has also consistently been attributed to Campagna based on his use of kneeling supporters such as the angels supporting the altar of the Sacrament in S. Giuliano or the pair of angels carrying cornucopia candlesticks now on an altar of the church of the Carmini, Venice. An example of this variant model is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. A.104-1910).

RELATED LITERATURE
W. Bode, The Italian bronze statuettes of the renaissance, rev. ed. by James D. Draper, 1980, pl. CLXXI; N. Penny, Catalogue of European Sculpture in the Ashmolean Museum, vol.1 Italian, Oxford 1992, nos. 243 and 244; L. Ambrusio and F. Capobianco (eds.), La Collezione Farnese di Capodimonte, I Bronzetti, Naples 1995, no. 26