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Mercury taking Flight
Sculptor: Rustici, Giovanni Francesco
Copper alloy, probably bronze, cast, and chased, mounted later on breccia ball and wooden socle.
Copper alloy, probably bronze, cast, and chased, mounted later on breccia ball and wooden socle. Mercury stands balanced on his right leg on a green and red breccia marble ball. His left leg is thrust out stiffly behind him. His left hand rests on his hip, and his right arm is raised, the hand shaped to grasp a slim rod held roughly horizontally. His head is thrust sharply back, the face turned upwards. His lips are pursed, and his mouth shaped as a nozzle pierced in the centre with a round hole (diam 6mm). In the centre of the figure's back is a large irregular oval aperture (7.8 x 3.7 cm) cast with a rebate designed to receive a closely fitted cover.
History note: Commissioned in 1515 by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, Palazzo Medici, Florence; Sir Francis Cook Bt, Doughty House, Richmond, Surrey (d.1901); 1901, by inheritance, Wyndham Francis Cook, London (where catalogued by Arthur Banks Skinner); 1905 by inheritance, Humphrey Wyndham Cook, London; His sale, Christie's, London, 8 July 1925, lot 242, bt Henry Harris, London; His sale, Sotheby's, London, 24 October 1950, 'The Henry Harris Collection, Catalogue of the Celebrated Collection of Bronzes, Sculpture, Paintings and works of Art of the Italian Renaissance', lot 106, illustrated as frontispiece; bt Sylvia Adams for Lt. Col. the Hon. M.T. Boscawen, D.S.O., M.C.; Bequeathed by the Hon. Mrs Pamela Sherek, from the collection of the late Lt. Col. the Hon. M.T. Boscawen, D.S.O., M.C. in his memory.
Bequeathed by the Hon. Mrs Pamela Sherek, from the collection of the late Lt Col. the Hon. M.T. Boscawen, DSO, MC, in his memory.
Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1995) by Sherek, Pamela
16th Century, Early#
Renaissance
Production date:
circa
AD 1515
: According to Vasari, commissioned in 1515 by Cardinal Giulio de' Medici for a fountain in the courtyard of the Palazzo Medici.
Figure
composed of
copper alloy
( probably bronze)
Height 47.9 cm
Socle
composed of
wood (plant material)
Ball
composed of
marble
Diameter 17.5 cm
Casting (process)
: Copper alloy, probably bronze, cast, and chased, mounted later on breccia ball and wooden socle.
Chasing
Accession number: M.2-1997
Primary reference Number: 14009
Old object number: B.1.
External ID: CAM_CCF_M_2_1997
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Mercury taking Flight" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/14009 Accessed: 2024-12-23 00:31:32
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/14009
|title=Mercury taking Flight
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-23 00:31:32|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-14009
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center">
<figure class="figure">
<img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/aa/aa19/M_2_1997_281_29.jpg"
alt="Mercury taking Flight"
class="img-fluid" />
<figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Mercury taking Flight</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>
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