Workshop of Antonio Susini (1543-1632) Italian, Florence, early 17th century After the Antique

Cyril Humphris, London, United Kingdom;
Arthur M. Sackler, USA;
his sale, Sotheby's New York, 29 January 2010, lot 449;
private collection, United Kingdom

Overall the condition of the bronze is good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age including small nicks and scratches. There is a greenish layer to the patina, which appears uneven in areas, notably to the bull's back, revealing the brownish patina underneath. The rear standing figure and the left man restraining the bull are cast separately and are a little loose. Two of the proper left fingers of the right man restraining the bull are lost, as are the ropes held by the left man to restrain the bull. There are two holes in the terrasse towards the front where a separately cast dog would have stood (now lost), and a hole in the terrasse on the left side where another lost element may have been affixed.
"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 fine bronze derives from the famous marble statue excavated in the Baths of Caracalla in 1545 during the reign of Paul III Farnese. It passed immediately into the possession of the Pope's family in Rome, and was partially restored under Michelangelo's supervision in 1550. The group was displayed in the second courtyard of the Farnese Palace where it served as a fountain. The subject of the statue remained unclear for some time, and it was only after a second restoration around 1580, when it assumed its present appearance, that the group was identified with a work described by Pliny as representing the fate of Dirce by Apollonius and Tauriscus of Rhodes. In 1788, the statue, along with the other Antique marbles in the Farnese Collection, was taken to Naples where it was installed first in the Villa Reale, or public gardens, at Chiaia and later in the Museo Nazionale, its home to this day.

The Farnese Bull was frequently reproduced in bronze during the course of the seventeenth and later centuries and two of the finest examples are the 1613 signed and dated bronze by Antonio Susini in the Villa Borghese, Rome (Avery and Radcliffe, op. cit., no. 180) and one in the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (see Androsov, op. cit., no. 81), also signed and dated by Susini.

The present bronze has many of the hallmarks of the aforementioned Susini casts, including: the distinctive drapery with multiple, hard-edged, narrow folds interspersed with long, narrow depressions; the broad faces with heavily lidded eyes and punched pupils, open mouths bearing teeth, as well as tooled and defined finger- and toenails. Like the cast in the Borghese Gallery as well as that in the Hermitage, the base of this group is punched with undulating lines.

RELATED LITERATURE
C. Avery and R. Radcliffe (eds.), Giambologna, 1529-1608: Sculptor to the Medici, exh. cat. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, (et al.), 1978; F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique. The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900, New Haven and London, pp. 165-167, no. 15; S. Androsov, Museo statale Ermitage: La scultura Italiana dal XIV al XVI secolo, Milan, 2008;