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Lot Essay
The present ivory figure has traditionally been thought to represent Juno, the chief goddess of Olympus and both sister and wife to Jupiter. Stylistically this exceptionally large ivory hails from the sculptural tradition that was invented by the Austrian-born ivory carver Simon Troger in the 18th century. This debt is most obvious when comapring it to the carving of the face and hair, the inset eyes, the style of the drapery and the overall posture of, for example, the various figures in the Judgment of Salomon group by Troger in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (Philipowich, loc. cit.).
With its heavily neo-classicising style of carving, as well as the secular subject matter, the present figure must date to sometime in the third quarter of the 18th century and at the time when followers of Troger's like Johann Schnegg, a fellow Austrian and ivory carver, continued the former's sculptural tradition. Although Schnegg seemingly produced very little on a small-scale, it is clear that the present lot relates very closely to two other groups in ivory and wood of St. Michael and Satan in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (ibid, p. 246, fig. 183) and of St. Stanislas Kostka in the Barbara Piasecka Johnson collection (Grabski, loc. cit.). All three groups are comparable in their unusually large scale, as well as the drapery that either clings to the body or forms voluminous folds, an elegant but static pose and a calm, reflective, facial type.
Probably until the early 1950s the ivory Juno formed part of the legendary collection of Ole Olsen in Copenhagen. Olsen collected art passionately, widely and thoroughly, starting with prehistoric artefacts and ending in the late 18th century. He acquired many of his pieces in Germany and Scandinavia and also took advice from two of the most prolific academics of the time; Willem von Bode and Otto von Falke. When Schmitz compiled the collection catalogue (loc. cit.) he noted that the group of ivories, numbering 140 pieces, formed one of the largest groups within the overall collection. While this group was chronologically well represented, Olsen evidently had a particular interest in 17th and 18th century ivory carvings since he had numerous examples of South German figures and turned ivory cups, as well as a number of pieces identified as being by Troger and Angermeier. Thus the Juno, although unattributed at the time, would have been a perfect addition to this group and demostrated Olsen's sharp eye and his systematic and methodical collecting.
With its heavily neo-classicising style of carving, as well as the secular subject matter, the present figure must date to sometime in the third quarter of the 18th century and at the time when followers of Troger's like Johann Schnegg, a fellow Austrian and ivory carver, continued the former's sculptural tradition. Although Schnegg seemingly produced very little on a small-scale, it is clear that the present lot relates very closely to two other groups in ivory and wood of St. Michael and Satan in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (ibid, p. 246, fig. 183) and of St. Stanislas Kostka in the Barbara Piasecka Johnson collection (Grabski, loc. cit.). All three groups are comparable in their unusually large scale, as well as the drapery that either clings to the body or forms voluminous folds, an elegant but static pose and a calm, reflective, facial type.
Probably until the early 1950s the ivory Juno formed part of the legendary collection of Ole Olsen in Copenhagen. Olsen collected art passionately, widely and thoroughly, starting with prehistoric artefacts and ending in the late 18th century. He acquired many of his pieces in Germany and Scandinavia and also took advice from two of the most prolific academics of the time; Willem von Bode and Otto von Falke. When Schmitz compiled the collection catalogue (loc. cit.) he noted that the group of ivories, numbering 140 pieces, formed one of the largest groups within the overall collection. While this group was chronologically well represented, Olsen evidently had a particular interest in 17th and 18th century ivory carvings since he had numerous examples of South German figures and turned ivory cups, as well as a number of pieces identified as being by Troger and Angermeier. Thus the Juno, although unattributed at the time, would have been a perfect addition to this group and demostrated Olsen's sharp eye and his systematic and methodical collecting.