19th century French school - Lot 313

19th century French school Centaur and Nymph embracing Cast and chased silver group H. 24.5 cm x W. 20 cm, on a grey stone base and marble counter-socle This delicately chased cast silver group depicts a centaur embracing a woman. The details of the swishing tail, the raised left foreleg and the centaur's left hand holding his club ready to strike all contribute to the narrative (or amorous) tension of a subject that has been much appreciated in art history since the Renaissance: the love between nymph and centaur. The subject, inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses, of the abduction of Hercules' wife, Dejanira, by the centaur Nessus, was revived by Giambologna, the famous Mannerist artist active in Florence at the end of the 16th century. This subject was then disseminated through the publication of numerous small art bronzes and goldsmith's and silversmith's pieces (cf. Aiguière attributed to Tobias Kramer , 1615, cast silver , H. 40.5 cm, Paris, Musée du Louvre, n°inv. MR 486). Unfortunately, the model for this composition is not known, and our group is distinguished by the calmer attitude of the two protagonists. The sensual posture of the young woman, standing on tiptoe and embracing the centaur's head, suggests an amorous promiscuity, opening up another hypothesis of representation: that of the centaur Chiron and the nymph Chariclo, his wife. These mythological and highly narrative subjects have never ceased to inspire artists, particularly historicist goldsmiths in the 19th century. Expert | Sculpture and Collecting