Paire de statuettes en bisuit de porcelaine représentant deux nymphes dansantes, Real Fabri...

Paire de statuettes en bisuit de porcelaine représentant deux nymphes dansantes, Real Fabrica Ferdinandea, modelée par Filippo Taglioni, vers 1800 A pair of Naples, Real Fabbrica Ferdinandea biscuit figures of two dancing nymphs, circa 1800 Modelled by Filippo Tagliolini, holding a wreath in her hands, dressed in drapery, 33cm and 30.5 cm high (some restoration) Footnotes: This pair belongs to a large group of twelve nymphs originally conceived for the table centrepiece of the Il Carro dell'Aurora or Trionfo di Venere of which a sligtly later Poulard Prad example is in the collections of the Capodimonte Museum in Naples. For a discussion of the centrepiece see: Alvar Gonzálas-Palacios, Lo scultore Filippo Tagliolini e la porcellana di Napoli (1988), cat.no. 40. and Angela Caròla-Perrotti, Le Porcellane napoletane dell'Ottocento, 1807-1860 (1990), cat.no. 20-34. According to Caròla-Perrotti, the centrally seated Venus in the Capodimonte surtout was re-modelled to function as an allegory of Carolina Murat (op.cit., plate 22). Gonzálas-Palacios remarks that the original models, or at least parts thereof, predate the arrival of the French. He deduces from the Nota de'prezzi from 1805 that the individual figures from the centrepice were listed and sold before the arrival of Murat in Naples. In the sale inventory of the factory from 1807, there is mention of a large amount of pieces which correspond to the Trionfo di Venere, amongst them dodici figure dell'ore valued at 120 ducats (number 2029), and another dodici figure dell'ore che ballano (number 2142). It is therefor likely that this group, and the following one, both set on square plinths, may be of one of the earlier series sold off in 1807. Gonzálas-Palacios suggests a possible source for the surtout can be found in a large Baroque ceiling fresco painted in 1614 by Guido Reni for the Casino adjacent to the Palazzo Pallavicini-Rospigliosi, in Rome. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing