Not on display

The Dancing Faun

Statuette
ca. 1750 - ca. 1800 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Italy (made)

This is an ivory statuette made in ca. 1750-1800, probably in Italy (Florence). It represents a dancing Faun, depicted as a nude man, his right leg raised and resting on a clapper, his head bent downward and in his left hand a cymbal.
It is a reduced version of the antique statuette in the Uffici in Florence. It was probably made during the second half of the eighteenth century appealing to the Grand Tourists visiting Florence.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Myths & Legends
Object type
Statuette
TitleThe Dancing Faun (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Ivory carved
Ivory
Carving
Brief description
Statuette, ivory, the Dancing Faun, probably Italian (Florence), ca. 1750-1800
Physical description
Figure of a cymbal player, right hand missing. He is shown nude, his right leg raised and resting on a clapper (scabellum), his head bent downwards, in his left hand a cymbal, his right arm raised.
Dimensions
  • Whole height: 22.8cm
  • Ivory alone height: 21.2cm
Object history
Bought for £50 from R. Green Esq., London in 1874.
Subjects depicted
Cymbals
Fauns
Summary
This is an ivory statuette made in ca. 1750-1800, probably in Italy (Florence). It represents a dancing Faun, depicted as a nude man, his right leg raised and resting on a clapper, his head bent downward and in his left hand a cymbal.
It is a reduced version of the antique statuette in the Uffici in Florence. It was probably made during the second half of the eighteenth century appealing to the Grand Tourists visiting Florence.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1874, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., p. 41
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927-1929, Part I, p. 106
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 305, p. 310
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
579-1874

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Record createdSeptember 26, 2008
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O167809/the-dancing-faun-statuette-unknown/
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