detto Giambologna (after), Little devil

Black patinated bronze; 26x10x10 cm This very rare bronze statuette is a replica with variations of the famous little devil by Giambologna, located in the Bardini Museum in Florence. It was a standard-bearer with a hole in his head, placed on the corner of Palazzo Vecchietti in Florence. It represents a demonic figure that is not easy to decipher, we are in the realm of the wildest fantasy. Dog-like muzzle and ears, androgynous body with exposed breasts and goat legs. Instead of arms, two shell-shaped spirals. The Creature gallops a kind of bull's head. It seems that the bronze was placed there to commemorate the expulsion of the Devil who appeared to St. Peter Martyr in 1245 right at the crossroads of the palace. In the early twentieth century the original sculpture was replaced and displayed for a period on the terrace of Saturn in Palazzo Vecchio and subsequently taken to the Bardini Museum, also in Florence, where it is still on display. There are replicas made from casts of the original, created by local foundries on the occasion of the transfer to the Bardini Museum, (We thank Charles Avery for the kind information). The bronze statuette proposed here is first of all not a cast, but the dimensions change and it is characterised as an autonomous work inspired by the original. The material aspect of the casting, the patina and the modelling also denote it as an ancient work, probably from the 17th century.