SOTHEBY'S John's great love of Doccia porcelain is encapsulated in the beautiful and ambitious Doccia figure group of Apollo and Daphne (lot 65, illustrated left). This feat of porcelain manufacturing is taken from a model by the great Baroque Florentine sculptor Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi. The Doccia Factory was founded in 1737 in Sesto Fiorentino , near Florence, and shortly after began acquiring and commissioning plaster moulds and wax casts of works by Soldani-Benzi and Giovanni Battista Foggini, to be produced in porcelain. Daphne and Apollo as a subject is mentioned three times in a listing of the wax plaster and terracotta models housed at the Doccia Factory. The listing for this version, estimated at £100,000-150,000, references three putti and trees, and twenty-five sections to the mould.
The sale includes a group of drawings from the workshop of
h
the most important Italian goldsmith of the 181
century,
Luigi Valadier. The bottega on Via de/ Babuino in Rome was the principal institute for the decorative arts, producing an array of wonderful oggetti d'arte for prestigious patrons and clients. John Winter's pioneering work on Valadier, who was not only a talented goldsmith but also an excellent draughtsman, was a valuable contribution to the art world. The majority of the drawings come from an album discovered by John containing 91sheets of paper mounted with 144 drawings. They include a wide range of subjects from pattern samples of the workshop's standard designs and highly finished presentation pieces to more basis preliminary drawings that explore ideas for a new design or ornament. One of the most significant is a presentation drawing for the cartagloria frame commissioned for the Borghese Chapel in Santa Maria Maggiore. estimated at
£1,500-2,000 (lot 134, illustrated left).
John was also an advocate of bronzes. The collection features two virtuoso bronze groups by the Venetian sculptor Francesco Bertos, including an Allegory of Fortune. estimated at £10,000-15,000 (lot 60, illustrated left). Cast in one piece, it shows Fortune with a torn sail, sitting astride a figure of misfortune, who is clubbing a young man who has fallen to the ground, while Cupid dances around the edge of the scene. The demands of Bertos' patrons encouraged erudite iconography which was meant to stimulate debate amongst the observers.
A group of some 25 Old Master drawings features Head of a Man looking down, attributed to Jacopo Vignali (lot 24, illustrated left). Most probably a portrait, executed from life, in two colours of chalk, it is estimated at £5,000-7,000. Leading the group is an extremely charming portrait of A Milkmaid and a Donkey carrying two large baskets of flowers in a wood, by l81h-century French artist Louis Carrogis, called Carmontelle, estimated to bring£40,000-60,000 (lot 103).
Further highlights include Head of an Elderly Man wearing glasses by Jacob Jordaens , in red, black and white chalk, estimated at £10,000-15,000 (lot 25), and A Costume Design for a Moor by 171h-century Italian artist Stefano della Bella, estimated to bring £3,000-5,000 (lot 54).
These works are joined by 191h-century ceramics, and terracotta, wax and pencil sketches by leadingl91h-century French and Italian artists and sculptors.
A number of lots are estimated at £3,000 or below, creating exciting opportunities for collectors. The catalogue is available to view here.
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