Pair of andirons featuring Adonis and Venus. - Lot 216

Pair of andirons featuring Adonis and Venus. The figures after a model by Tiziano Aspetti (1565-1607); the bases after Girolamo Campagna (1549-1625) and Niccolo Roccatagliata (1570- 1636). patinated bronze. Italy, 19th century Height: 83 cm. During the 16th and 17th centuries, particularly in Venice, bronze andirons became more elaborate with allegorical figures, often linked to the element of fire. The andirons shown here, produced in the 19th century, follow in the tradition of the famous Venetian foundries, whose reputation dates back to the 14th century, thanks to their mastery of lost-wax casting. This knowledge enabled them to manufacture both liturgical and domestic objects of the highest quality, such as oil lamps, knockers, inkwells and candlesticks. Comparative bibliography : L. Planiscig, Venezianische Bildhauer der Renaissance, Vienna, 1921, pp. 582-3, p. 564, fig. 619. H. R. Weihrauch, Europäische Bronzestatuetten, 15-18 Jahrhunderts, Brunswick, 1967, pp. 156-7. P. Motture, The Production of Firedogs in Renaissance Venice, in P. Motture (ed.), Large Bronzes in the Renaissance, New Haven and London, 2003, pp. 277-307. [IA]