A FRANCO-FLEMISH TERRACOTTA MAQUETTE OF A RIVER GOD

A FRANCO-FLEMISH TERRACOTTA MAQUETTE OF A RIVER GOD
IN THE MANNER OF JAN BAPTIST XAVERY OR JEAN-JACQUES CAFFIERI, FIRST HALF 18TH CENTURY

modelled seated holding an upturned vase
28.7cm high (max)

Provenance
Purchase Sotheby's, London, 16th June 1983, European Sculpture, Bronzes & Jewellery from Medieval to 18th Century, lot 190.

Catalogue Note

The maquette of a river god offered here can be compared to the terracotta model of the same subject by Jan Baptist Xavery (Flemish 1697-1742) in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (accession number BK-NM-5350). Also, see the terracotta model of a river god by Jean-Jacques Caffieri (French 1725–1792) in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (accession number M.6-1992). These works build on the Italian tradition of terracotta sketches, exemplified by the model of a river god by Giambologna (Italian 1529-1608) in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London (accession number 250-1876).