Lot 141: Giovanni Bernardi da Castelbolognese (?) (1496-1553) Ludovico Ariosto, oval bronze plaquette, 79mm. x 60.5mm., a very fine old cast,...

Giovanni Bernardi da Castelbolognese (?) (1496-1553)
Ludovico Ariosto, oval bronze plaquette, 79mm. x 60.5mm., a very fine old cast, brown patina, pierced at top, number 1253 in relief on reverse

Obverse: bust in profile to the left of Lodovico Ariosto, with beard, wearing open shirt and gown, L-A across field

Reverse: blank except for number 1253 in relief

The portrait is known with a variety of reverses, for example Venus crowned by Victory, and Mercury with Argos. One reverse, of Phaeton, is attributed to Giovanni Bernardi, but as the obverse seems to be married with different reverses at random, this does not help with identifying the artist of this portrait.

The portrait is based on the frontispiece of the 1523 edition of Orlando furioso, and the number on the reverse seems to be an error for 1523.

References
Armand II, 93, 20-21 (with reverses); Brescia 508 (with reverse); Gaetani, XLVII, 1 (with reverse); Naples, Museo Nazionale, 149 A, and 149 (with reverse)