Description
Shaped body with a sinuous profile, entirely decorated in relief with a rich ornamental apparatus in the late-Renaissance/early Baroque style: opposing volutes, phytomorphic elements, cartouches, and grotesque motifs. In the center are nude anthropomorphic figures, probably allegorical or mythological, inserted within a complex symmetrical composition; at the top, there is a further freestanding figured element. On the sides, hybrid creatures and stylized zoomorphic motifs are developed. On the opposite side, relief decoration centered on a grotesquely expressive mask with exaggerated features: frontal face, open mouth, hollowed eyes, and marked brow arches. The face is framed by large leafy volutes and cartouche motifs that unfold symmetrically on the sides, with a clear reference to the Mannerist repertoire. A similar pair of Tuscan bellows is preserved at the Camillo Leone Museum (inv. no. 4314). Another example, described as French with an Italian nozzle, is in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (inv. no. 64.101.1226). A third similar example, carved in fruitwood, was sold by Bonhams, London, September 23 – October 7, 2025, lot 113. Finally, an analogous pair of bellows is preserved at the Civic Museums of the Sforza Castle in Milan (see E. Colle, no. 824).
Dimensions
HxWxD 76.5cm x 33cm x 10cm
Provenance
Sotheby's Milan, From the Collections of a Roman Lady. Important Old Master Paintings, Furniture and Works of Art, October 18, 2006, lot 20.
Private collection
Condition
Signs of wear, surface oxidation, small losses.
