French or Italian, circa 1700

Several casts of these beautiful models exists. A pair, catalogued as Florentine, second half of the 17th century, are in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich (inv. nos. 1091 and 1077). A further pair are in the Grünes Gewölbe, Dresden (inv. no. IX 46). Another pair were sold in these rooms on 6 December 2016, lot 102, while a fourth pair were formerly in the Abbott Guggenheim Collection, see M. Schwartz, European Sculpture from the Abbott Guggenheim Collection, New York, 2008, p. 181, no. 96.

Recently the models have been associated with the French sculptor Claude Bertin (fl. 1682-1705) who worked at Versailles, executing a number of monumental vases for the gardens (see for example inv. no. MR2978).