Neptune. By Giambologna. 19th century. Black patinated bronze.

30 x 15 x 18 cm

The bronze presented here is inspired by the very famous Neptune by Giambologna placed at the top of the fountain of the same name in Bologna.

In reality, it differs from the other two in terms of its long beard and the head of the putto on which the Herculean figure rests its left foot.

In the original fountain, the Greek god has a short beard and is leaning on a dolphin.

Rather, our copyist was inspired by the sketch of the work also kept in Bologna, in the Medieval Museum, which indeed retains a long beard.

The curious thing is that the foundry attributed the work to Cellini, engraving it on the back, therefore at a time when the actual author had not yet been identified.

Certainly, for our casting they were inspired by the identical sculpture kept in the National Museum in Stockholm, now rightly attributed to the great Renaissance master, Giambologna.

Interesting and high quality bronze, in the wake of the Grand Tour.