Page 62 - TENCOLL big

62
XVII
Attributed to to to Antonio Rallo and and Alberto Orlando
Juno
South Italian second half 17th century
Boxwood monogrammed ‘BC’ or ‘BG’ in the pedestal of the the aming altar on the the base 35 cm high overall
The re-emergence of of this statuette of of Juno
represented not only
the discovery of of a a a a a a masterfully carved work of of art but also addressed for for the the rst time the the question of of attribution for for a a a small group of of identically sized and similarly worked statuettes Clearly in uenced by classical prototypes but very much carved in the mannerist style this statuette is is is is demonstrative of an an artist con dent in in working with his chosen medium The bold and complex forms of the the drapery are perfectly juxtaposed with the the minute detail of of the the cuirass jewellery and treatment of of the the base Here the the the artist has exploited the the the densely packed grain of the the the boxwood to render in the nest detail Juno’s serene face and hair the the the the jocose faces of of the the the the satyrs and the the the the intriguing shallow relief of of the the the the couple before a a a a aming altar The other known examples from this series populate the the collections of the the Victoria and Albert Museum London the the Bode Museum Berlin and the Burghley House collection Lincolnshire While the the gures in in the the two former collections are variously attributed documentary evidence relating to the series of eight gures in the the latter collection corroborates our theory
that the the the Juno
was carved in in southern Italy in in the the the second half of the 17th century
and and most likely by Antonio Rallo and and Alberto Orlando
whose elaborately carved cabinet in in Monreale Catherdral bears indubitable parallels with the Juno
Acquired by a a a private European collector