Pan and Syrinx

16th century

Italian 16th Century

Associated Names
Italian 16th Century

Artist

The sculpture is a circular metal plaque featuring a relief depiction of two human-like figures standing closely together. The figures are rendered in a manner that emphasizes their muscular forms and are depicted nude, standing in a dynamic pose. The material of the plaque appears to be bronze or a similar metal with a dark patina and areas of the figures highlighted in a light golden color. The circular plaque contains four small holes. The surface texture displays weathering. The size of the plaque suggests it is relatively small, possibly intended for decorative or ornamental use.

Media Options

Skip thumbnail navigation
Back to thumbnail navigation
This object’s media is free and in the public domain. Read our full Open Access policy for images.
Not on view See artworks now on view

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze//Dark lacquer (much rubbed) over light brown bronze

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (oval): 4.1 x 3.4 cm (1 5/8 x 1 5/16 in.) gross weight: 14 gr

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.459

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his estate; purchased 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); purchased 1945 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1957 to NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1886

  • Molinier, Émile. Les Bronzes de la Renaissance. Les Plaquettes; Catalogue Raisonné. 2 vols. Paris, 1886:, 1:10, no. 15.

1931

  • Ricci, Seymour de. The Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Reliefs and Plaquettes. Oxford, 1931. vol. II, 226, no. 325, pl. 96.

1951

  • National Gallery of Art. Renaissance Bronzes: Statuettes, Reliefs and Plaquettes, Medals and Coins from the Kress Collection. Introduction by Perry B. Cott. Washington, 1951: 155.

1965

  • Pope-Hennessy, John W. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Reliefs, Plaquettes, Statuettes, Utensils and Mortars. London, 1965: no. 40, fig. 388.

1986

  • Ford, Terrence, compiler and ed. Inventory of Music Iconography, no. 1. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York 1986: no. 51.

1989

  • Donati 1989, 254, fig. 133, as Attributed to Bernardi.

2014

  • Warren, Jeremy. Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture. A Catalogue of the Collection in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Oxford, 2014: 3:794.

Wikidata ID

Q63814859

You may be interested in

Loading Results