Lot 379
- 379
An Italian bronze group of two women wrestling, workshop of Ferdinando Tacca (1619-1686), 17th century, Florence
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
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Description
- Two Women Fighting
- Bronze
- 13 1/2 in.; 34.3 cm.
on wood base.
Provenance
Sotheby's, London, December 9, 1993, lot 122
Catalogue Note
Wrestling matches between barely clad pairs of women and of men were a form of court entertainment in 17th century Italy.
This model and other smaller statuettes are attributed to Ferdinando Tacca and his workshop by virtue of their parallels with his larger signed compositions. The grappling women are nude in the present exam♔ple, though in two other variants of this composition, they are more modestly presented, covered by fig leaves or with drapery around their hips. A similar cast o🐓f wrestling men is often paired with this group and has also been attributed to Tacca's workshop (e.g. Christie's London, July 4, 1989, lot 116, comprising draped groups of both men and women).
RELATED LITERATURE
A. Radcliffe, 'Ferdinando Tacca, the missing link in Florentine Baroque Bronzes', in Kunst des Barok in der Toskana, Munich, 1976, pp. 14-23