$12,300
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925) Mercury Embracing Venus Initialed "JSS" and numbered "7/7" in the bronze base. Bronze with black patina, height approximately 11 3/4 in. (29.8 cm), on a metal plinth. Condition: Dust and dirt to the interstices, minor wear to patina at top edges of Mercury's wings. N.B. A similar Sargent bronze statue may be found in the collection of the Sargent House Museum, Gloucester, Massachusetts. Their sculpture, which has a dark brown patina, is signed similarly but does not bear an edition number. Described as Study for Eros and Psyche , c. 1917, the Sargent House bronze was given by Violet (Sargent) Ormond in 1936. Violet was a niece of the artist. The sculpture is thought to have been a study Sargent executed in preparation for a mural commission. Research has suggested that in the 1960s a Sargent descendant arranged for casts of some of the artist's small bronzes. It is not clear if the sculpture at hand might be one of those examples.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2016-09-23
