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Aurora and Cephalus: M.6-1985

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Aurora and Cephalus

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Folding fan. Double chickenskin leaf, painted in bodycolour. Right, left and upper edge gilt. Sticks and guards of pierced and carved ivory (18+2). Rivet set is clear pastes. Front: painted overall with Cephalus and Aurora after the fresco by Annibale and Agostino Carracci (1560-1609) in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, commissioned by Cardinal Odoardo Farnese (1573-1626) in 1595. reverse: Painted overall with a view of the Tiber and the Ponte Rotto, the ancient Pons Aemilius in Rome. Sticks: three shaped oval cartouches, each containing a chinoiserie scene: a boy holding out a chrysanthemum towards a seated man holding a pipe, with vases and flowering plants on each side. Guards: below the shoulder, a vase amid scrolls and flowers; above, scrolls, flowers and a Chinese figure.

Notes

History note: Colonel Leonard C. Messel (1872-1953); his daughter Anne, Countess of Rosse (1902-1992)

Legal notes

Purchased with a grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund and a gift from the Friends of the Fitzwilliam

Measurements and weight

Width: 48.5 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bought (1985-01-28) by Countess of Rosse, Anne

Dating

18th Century, second half#
Circa 1750 - Circa 1780

Note

Aurora, goddess of the Dawn, fell in love with Cephalus, and carried him off in her chariot against his will. After the fresco by Agostino Carracci (1557-1602) on the window wall of the Galleria Farnese in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The frescoes were commissioned in 1595 by Cardinal Odoardo Farnese (1573-1626). On the reverse is a view of the Tiber and the Ponte Rotto, the ancient Pons Aemilius.

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Leaf composed of bodycolour ( polychrome) chicken skin gilt
Sticks+guards composed of ivory
Guards Length 29.1 cm

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: M.6-1985
Primary reference Number: 117592
Old object number: DR 2/17
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 19 January 2021 Last processed: Thursday 7 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Aurora and Cephalus" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/117592 Accessed: 2024-11-25 17:06:06

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/117592 |title=Aurora and Cephalus |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-25 17:06:06|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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