Lot 13: A BRONZE BELL

A BRONZE BELL
ITALIAN, DATED 1609 AND ATTRIBUTED TO THE FOUNDRY OF GIUSEPPE DE LEVIS, VERONA (1552-1611/14)
The upper section with a frieze of harpies and cast with the inscriptions 'ALESANDER ET HORATIUS IUD [ICES] FRATRES DE BROGNONICIS MDCIX'
16 in. (40.5 cm.) high, 12 in. (30½ cm.) diameter
TRUESDELL COLLECTION

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
C. Avery, 'Giuseppe de Levis of Verona, a bronze founder and sculptor of the late 16th century: 1, Bells and mortars', The Connoisseur, November, 1972, pp. 179-188; '2: Figure style', February, 1973, pp. 87-97; '3, Decorative Utensils and Domestic Ornaments', February, 1974, pp. 123-129; '4: New Discoveries', February, 1977, pp. 114-121.

Brognonico [or Brognonigo] Family, Verona.
with Caldes, Bologna, 1961.

Property from the Collection of Professor and Mrs. Clifford Ambrose Truesdell

In his series of articles in The Connoisseur in the 1970's, Charles Avery exhaustively researched Giuseppe de Levis and his bronze foundry in Verona in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. There are many similarities between de Levis' documented works and the magnificent Truesdell bell. In particular, the frieze of harpies of the Truesdell bell shows up on many of his other pieces including several bells and mortars (article 1, figs. 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14 and 15 and article 4, fig. 3). Furthermore, in a letter of 28 September, 1977 to Professor Truesdell, Avery mentions that the applique of St. Catherine on the Truesdell bell is similar to the one on the mortar illustrated in article 1, fig. 8. Avery also identifies the noble family whose coat-of-arms was cast on the bell, as a family of judges who had been prominent since the mid-15th century in Verona.