Lot 19: LEONE LEONI (c. 1509-1590) The Triumph of

LEONE LEONI (c. 1509-1590) The Triumph of Gianettino Doria guided by Andrea Doria as Neptune, bronze plaquette, c. 1541, Gianettino, dressed in Roman armour and holding a trident, riding the waves in a sea-borne chariot pulled by two sea-horses and attended by two sea-monsters; to his right is Andrea, nude, as Neptune, standing in a similar chariot pulled by two sea-horses and attended by two more; in the turbulent sea are tritons and a nereid; in the sky above are clouds, a flock of birds and a rainbow; with an inscription in upper left field: ANDR PATRIS AVSPITIIS ET PROPRIO LABORE (Under the auspices of his father and by his own efforts), 89.3mm x 76mm (Molinier 352; Bange 929; Kress 75; Maclagan pp. 71-72, 267-1864 and A484-1910, pl. XIV; Pollard, 'The Plaquette Collections in the British Museum', StHist 22, p. 240, 162; Attwood p. 86, fig. 20), an extremely fine contemporary cast with light brown patina, possibly the finest known example with exceptional clarity of detail

Provenance: Spink, 24 January 2008, lot 70. Leone Leoni was a medallist, goldsmith and sculptor whose extraordinary abilities were appreciated by no less a figure than Michelangelo, of whom Leoni created a famous medal. He possessed a volatile temperament and was quarrelsome and envious, not unlike his contemporary Benvenuto Cellini. During his career Leoni was accused of many things including counterfeiting (for which he was condemned to death) and, by his despised rival Cellini, of murder, purportedly by grinding a diamond (replaced by beryl, to save costs) into Cellini's food (Vita I, xxv). However, it was for his murderous assault on the papal jeweller Pellegrino di Leuti in 1540 (to which he admitted to save his wife and mother from torture) that Leoni was condemned to lose his right hand. This punishment was commuted to enslavement in the papal galleys where he served for a number of months. He was freed through the efforts of Andrea Doria, to whom Leoni dedicated a series of four medals (for two of them ee lots 122 and 123) and three plaquettes, in 1541, of which this version is undoubtedly the most dramatic. Gianettino Doria (died 1547), was Andrea Doria's second cousin and adopted son. This plaquette celebrates the younger Doria's victory over the Ottoman Turkish corsair Dragut in 1540. In it, Andrea Doria, who guided his heir's victory, assumes the attributes of Neptune calming the rolling seas - in this guise too he is depicted in Bronzino's famous portrait, now in the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan. Prior to the sale of the John Gaines Collection part 2 (Morton & Eden, 8 December 2005, lot 60) two plaquette types dedicated to Andrea and Gianettino Doria were known: this model and an apparently unique one in the British Museum, of Andrea Doria standing between Peace and Fame (Attwood p. 86, fig. 19). The Gaines plaquette (also evidently unique and subsequently acquired by the British Museum) depicted Gianettino Doria offering up a sacrifice. For a discussion of all three plaquettes, see Dora Thornton, 'A Plaquette by Leone Leoni acquired by the British Museum,'The Burlington Magazine, December 2006, pp. 828-832 as well as Acquisitions, The British Museum Magazine, Summer 2006, p. 61.