catalog text
BRONZE MODEL OF "SLEEPING PUTTO" IN THE MANNER OF FRANÇOIS DUQUESNOY
Situated over sienna marble base, unmarked; circa late 18th/early 19th century
Item # C104006
A very fine early casting in bronze of a sleeping putto after François Duquesnoy (1597-1643), the work is situated over a sienna marble base. Expertly chiseled and chased with a warm brown silky chemical patination, this gentle subject captures the resting infant entangled in his sheets with his face buried in a thick pillow. Intended as le presse-papiers, this functional work of art would have kept the desk orderly in a drafty library. A similar model of "Sleeping Putto" after Duquesnoy from the same period is executed in marble over granite and is held in the collection of the National Trust, Castle Coole in Northern Ireland (acc. no. 227752).
Measurements: 2 3/4" H x 2 3/4" D x 5 3/4" W [bronze only]; 3/8" H x 3 3/8" D x 6" W [base only]
Condition Report:
Marble base is perhaps later. Pitting to bronze in base edges and foot. Remaining in fine presentation-ready condition.