Lot 150a, Auction 4/12/2026: 17th C. Brass Repousse – “Minerva Introducing Painting”

$1,950.00

In stock

After Hans Jacob Bayr (German, 1574-1628). “Minerva Introducing Painting to the Circle of the Arts and Sciences – The Seven Liberal Arts” brass relief plaque, ca. 17th century CE. Unsigned. A richly detailed German brass relief plaque depicting Minerva introducing Painting to the circle of the Seven Liberal Arts, after a model by Hans Jacob Bayr (1574-1628), the composition unfolding within a finely cast palmette and beaded border with a deep, natural, dark patina. The central scene presents Minerva, goddess of wisdom and artistic ingenuity, guiding the allegorical figure of Painting (Pictura), identifiable by her palette and brushes, into the company of the Liberal Arts personified as elegant female figures – Grammar, Rhetoric, Logic, Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy – each accompanied by their symbolic instruments, including books, a globe, and musical devices. Size of relief: 10.25″ Diameter (26 cm); with frame: 14.25″ W (36.2 cm)

One figure bears the caduceus of Mercury, linking eloquence and communication to divine knowledge, while another engages with musical performance, reinforcing the harmony between intellectual and artistic pursuits.

Set within an Italianate landscape of classical ruins and baroque architecture, the relief incorporates additional mythological motifs, including a winged putto above bearing a laurel wreath and palm, emblems of victory and poetic achievement, and a lizard below, traditionally associated with wisdom and good fortune. The narrative reflects a Renaissance intellectual ideal – the elevation of painting and sculpture to the status of the liberal arts, disciplines worthy of scholarly and philosophical esteem. This example represents a finely executed 17th century casting derived from an original circa 1600 model, with comparable works preserved in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, and tied to the broader tradition of German goldsmith workshops in Augsburg and Nuremberg, where masters such as Bayr, Peter Flotner, and Hans Jamnitzer produced models that shaped the decorative arts of the period.

A gilt copper medallion of “Minerva Introducing Painting…” by Hans Jacob Bayr of more petite scale (6 inch diameter) was one of two in lot 565 at Sotheby’s Paris on June 29, 2023 (“Design 17/20: Furniture and Works of Art”) and hammered 6,096 euros (equivalent to $6,624.22 at the time).

Condition: Mounted in custom frame. Som eminor abraisons and light rubbing, but, otherwise, in excellent overall condition with impressive detail. Suspension wire on verso for display.

Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex-private Westport, Connecticut, USA collection

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