Seated boar - image-1

Lot 440 Dα

Seated boar

Auction 1208 - overview Cologne
17.11.2022, 14:30 - Decorative Arts - Sculpture Bronze Furniture Textiles
Estimate: 5.000 € - 8.000 €

Seated boar

Green serpentine figure. Minor chips to the edges. H 54, W 59, D 31 cm.
Italy, 19th C., based on Pietro Tacca's popular sculpture at the Fontana del Porcellino in Florence.

The sculptor Pietro Tacca (1577 - 1640) based his bronze sculpture for the fountain on a Roman marble, which in turn was inspired by a Greek model. Today, a bronze reproduction stands in the Loggia del Marcato Nuovo whilst the original bronze is in the Uffizi Gallery.
Visitors to "Il Porcellino" touch the pig's snout in the belief that this brings good luck. It is also customary to donate a coin, which falls through the grate into the fountain.