Fountain, upper section, bronze, with Actaeon and Nymphs, Germany (Nuremberg), ca. 1560

A figure of Actaeon, with a stags head, stands on the top of the fountain's central column. In his left hand he holds a boar-spear and in his right a hunting horn. Two hounds spring up to attack him. Water jets emerge from the mouths of the hounds, from Actaeon and from the hunting horn.

Three nude female figures, standing on the fountain's base, gather around the central column upon which Acteaon stands. Between them are couchant stags. Two of the women hold drapery, the third holds a shepherd's shovel in her right hand. Water jets emerge from the mouths of each of the female figures and from the mouths of the stags.

The lower part of the central column is fluted, the top has a gadrooned border. Applied to the column are three small female figures holding shields (one hand and shield missing). Between the figures are sejant dogs.

The base of the fountain is decorated with an acanthus frieze and five grotesque masks. On the underside, three putto masks are featured in high relief.

Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh

Hildburgh Bequest 1955. From the collection of the Marquess of Downshire at Easthampstead Park.

This fountain has been attributed by Dr. Weihrauch of Bayerisches National Museum to an Augsburg workshop influenced by Joachim Forster and Christoph Weiditz.

See Bange, E. F., Die Deustchen Bronzestatuetten des 16 Jahrhunderts, Berlin, Deutscher Verein für Kunstwissenschaft, 1949, fig. 178 and pl. 58 for figures of Actaeon attributed to the Georg Labenwolf workshop and the Dutch master Alexander Colin.

Historical significance: This fountain displays the Classical Greek myth of Actaeon and the Goddess Artemis (Diana). According to the legend, Actaeon stumbled across the naked Artemis bathing in the forest while hunting. To prevent him from telling anyone what he saw, Artemis turned Actaeon into a stag. The hunter then becomes the hunted when Actaeon is torn to pieces by his own hunting dogs. The sculpture emphasises this aspect of the story; Actaeon holds a spear and hunting horn in his hands as his hounds spring up to attack him. The depiction of this story highlights Renaissance interests in classical myth, however it also echoes the use of the object. As Artemis was discovered bathing in a fountain, the table fountain itself is part of the expression of the story.

This table fountain would have formed the centrepiece in a wealthy home or palace. Water would have cascaded from the mouths of the hounds, from Actaeon and the hunting horn, probably into a catch bowl underneath the fountain. This decorative centre piece would have been used to delight and entertain dinner guests. Table fountains of different shapes and materials survive from the late middle ages including examples in gold and silver. Elaborate fountains were commissioned by royalty and nobility as important displays of wealth and style. Albrecht Dürer designed a table fountain for display at a Civic Banquet table in Nuremberg around 1500 (British Museum). Henry VIII commissioned a design for a table fountain from Hans Holbein the Younger, which displayed the badge of Boleyn upon it (Kunst Museum Basel).

This fountain depicts the story of Actaeon, who spied on Diana and her nymphs bathing, and was transformed into a stag and devoured by his own hounds. It is one of the very few surviving complete examples of a type of indoor fountain produced in great quantities in Nuremberg foundries in the third quarter of the 16th century and widely exported. The story of Actaeon was a favourite subject for these. The models for the various components of the fountain were supplied by several different model-makers.

M.1-1955