Neptune and Triton thumbnail 1
Neptune and Triton thumbnail 2
Not on display

Neptune and Triton

Statuette
18th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Bernini, Gian Lorenzo (copy after)
Place of origin
Italy (made)
England (made)

This statuette is a reduced copy of Bernini's marble group of Neptune and Triton. It probably dates from the 18th century, and it may have been carved in England, where there was a cast of the statue by 1731, or in Rome before the sale of the original to Thomas Jenkins in 1786.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Images Online
Object type
Statuette
TitleNeptune and Triton (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Carved pine
Pinewood
Carved
Brief description
Neptune and Triton, reduced copy after the original by Gian Lorenzo Bernini; pine wood; Italian or English 18th century.
Physical description
Neptune and Triton, pine wood
Dimensions
  • Height: 57.5cm
  • Width: 26cm
  • Depth: 37cm
  • Weight: 3.15kg
Gallery label
(1993 - 2011)
STATUE OF NEPTUNE AND TRITON
English or Italian, (Rome); about; 1730-90
Pine wood
After Gian Lorenzo Bernini

This is a much reduced copy of Bernini’s marble group of Neptune and Triton (A.18-1950), which is on display in Gallery 50B. The marble was commissioned by Cardinal Alessandro Peretti Montalo (1571-1623), the great – nephew of Pope Sixtus V, to stand above a large oval fish-pond at his Villa alle Terme, which he had inherited from the Pope.
Object history
Purchased in London (£75). Previously sold at auction (Wyndham Cook sale, Christie's, 10 July 1925, no. 506, bought Nybourg, £54 12s).
Production
Reduced copy after the marble original by Gian Lorenzo Bernini
Subjects depicted
Marine Shell Trumpets
Trident
Neptune
Triton
Summary
This statuette is a reduced copy of Bernini's marble group of Neptune and Triton. It probably dates from the 18th century, and it may have been carved in England, where there was a cast of the statue by 1731, or in Rome before the sale of the original to Thomas Jenkins in 1786.
Bibliographic references
  • Pope-Hennessy, John. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture in the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: HMSO, 1964. cat. no. 642. fig. no. 636.
  • Maclagan, Eric and Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Italian Sculpture. London, 1932. p. 159.
  • Rival of Natuer. National Gallery, 1975. cat. no. 212. p. 87.
  • Weston-Lewis, Aidan (ed.), Effigies & Ecstasies: Roman Baroque Sculpture and Design in the age of Bernini, Edinburgh: National Gallery of Scotland, 1998.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.62-1925

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Record createdJanuary 2, 2003
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72372/neptune-and-triton-statuette-bernini-gian-lorenzo/
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