A rare bronze cast of a coluber snake - image-1

Lot 1728 Dα

A rare bronze cast of a coluber snake

Auction 1196 - overview Cologne
20.05.2022, 10:00 - Decorative Arts incl. Highly Important Mortars the Schwarzach Collection Part IV.
Estimate: 5.000 € - 6.000 €
Result: 5.000 € (incl. premium)
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A rare bronze cast of a coluber snake

Golden brown cast bronze with fine dark brown natural patina. Depiction of a resting snake cast from nature. W 12.8 cm.
Padua, early 16th C.

Cast from life of amphibians, reptiles and other small animals are known to have been made by bronze founders in Padua and Nuremberg in the 16th century. Both cities were major centres of bronze casting during the Renaissance. Casts of animals from nature were designed to cater to the interest in natural history during the era as well as displaying the artistic abilities of their makers.

Provenance

Private collection, Rhineland.

Literature

Cf. a very similar example in the Palazzo Venezia Rom, abgebildet bei Cannata, Museo Nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia, Rome 2007, cat. no. 160.
Another example in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (Inv. No. Kunstkammer, 5910).