Lot 54: ATTRIBUTED TO PAOLO AND GIUSEPPE DE LEVIS (ACTIVE CIRCA 1611-1630), ITALIAN, VERONA, EARLY 17TH CENTURY

ATTRIBUTED TO PAOLO AND GIUSEPPE DE LEVIS (ACTIVE CIRCA 1611-1630), ITALIAN, VERONA, EARLY 17TH CENTURY BOWL AND COVER bronze 27 by 21cm., 10 5/8 by 8¼in.

D. Banzato, 'Considerazioni sulla lavorazione e la diffusione di modelli nelle botteghe del Briosco, del Vittoria e dei De Levis', in: M. Ceriana and V. Avery (eds.), L'industria artistica del bronzo del rinascimento a Venezia e nell'Italia settentrionale, Venice, 2007, pp. 179-86

Davide Banzato (op.cit.) attributes the present bronze bowl and cover to the De Levis workshop and specifically to Giuseppe de Levis's two sons Paolo (1572-1635) and Francesco (1573-1630), dating the piece to the late 16υth or early 17υth century. He compares the bowl to another signed by Giuseppe de Levis in the Vok collection with the same motifs of the handles in the form of dragons and compares the borders on the present bowl to foliate work on a crucible in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum signed by Paolo and Francesco de Levis.

Another version of the bowl without a cover was sold by Christie's London as lot 81 on 5υth December 1989 which also incorporated the foliate border with putti and masks, the dragon head handles and the coat of arms, there identified as probably the ducal arms of the De Castello family of Verona.