Wall Fountain: Neptune with Seahorses

Place of OriginItaly, (Florence)

Dateabout 1560-1570

DimensionsH: 17 1/8 in. (43.5 cm); W: 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); Depth: 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm)

MediumBronze

ClassificationSculpture

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1952.13

Not on View

Label TextThis dramatic and elegant relief sculpture was once a working fountain, which would have been mounted to a wall. It was probably made in Florence, although some scholars suggest a Venetian maker of the late 16th century. A “relief” is a form of sculpture that is not freestanding but projects from a solid background of which it is a part. The subject of the bronze is an appropriate one for a fountain: the ancient Roman deity of the sea, Neptune. Here, he is shown rising out of the waves on the backs of two mythological hippocamps, or “seahorses,” which are literally part horse-part fish. A sea monster with a gaping mouth through which the water flowed appears out of the waves at the bottom of the relief, completing the composition.Published References

Avery, Charles, The Triumph of Humanism, San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1977, no. 49, repr. p. 34.

Scholten, Frits, Willem van Tetrode, Sculptor (c. 1525-1580): Guglielmo Fiammingo, Scultore, Zwolle, Uitgeverij Waanders b.v., 2003, fig. 33, p. 33.

Exhibition History

Lawrence, University of Kansas Museum of Art, Fontanalia, 1957, no. 23, repr. p. 10 (as Alessandro Vittoria).

Cleveland Museum of Art, Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections, 1975, no. 143.

San Francisco, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, The Triumph of Humanism, Oct. 22, 1977-Jan. 8, 1978.

Tulsa, Philbrook Art Center, Gloria dell'Arte: A Renaissance Perspective, 1979, no. 53.