Attributed to Andrea Riccio, 16th century

Attributed to ANDREA RICCIO (c. 1470–1532); 16th century.
“The Glorification of a Hero.”
Bronze.
Accompanied by a report by Doña Rosario Coppel.
Provenance: An important private Spanish collection.
Measurements: 7.5 x 10.3 x 0.5 cm.
Framed by a narrow frieze, the scene consists of a series of figures. In the center, a naked young man stands on a platform. To the right, a winged female figure, also nude—an allegory of Fame or Victory—poses with her left hand resting on the young man’s right shoulder. Between them, on the ground, is a pedestal decorated with a bearded mask and two standing figurines: a woman dressed in a chiton and a man, both wearing helmets. The woman holds a laurel branch in her hand, and the man holds a flag fluttering in the wind. In the left corner is another pedestal from which a snake emerges. On the right, a naked man, kneeling on the same platform as the main figure, holds a lamb ready for sacrifice. At the far end is a bearded man wearing a loincloth who wields a knife. Behind the kneeling figure are two flute players and a man with a long beard, his head covered by a laurel branch. In the background, we can see the laurel wreath and a small tree, as well as the remains of fragmented architecture consisting of an arch.
Aesthetically, the work resembles the style of Andrea Riccio, an Italian sculptor and occasional architect whose real name was Andrea Briosco, but who is generally known by his nickname, which means “curly”; although he is also known as Il Riccio and Andrea Crispus (“curly” in Latin). He is best known for his small bronze works—often practical objects such as inkwells or door knockers—exquisitely sculpted and decorated in a classicist Renaissance style. He was born in Padua, and his father, Ambrogio di Cristoforo Briosco, first trained him as a goldsmith. Later, he began studying bronze casting with Bartolomeo Bellano, a pupil of Donatello. As an architect, he is known for the Church of Santa Giustina in his hometown. His masterpieces include the bronze Paschal candelabrum in the choir of the Basilica of Saint Anthony in Padua (1515) and the two bronze reliefs (1507) depicting David Dancing Before the Ark and Judith and Holofernes in the same church. His bronze and marble tomb for the physician Girolamo della Torre in the Church of San Fermo in Verona was beautifully decorated with reliefs, which were taken by the French and are now in the Louvre. His smaller, more portable works attracted collectors from all over Europe. A bronze lamp made by Riccio was long owned by the Rothschild family and is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.