Italian, Rome, late 18th century. Goat suckling her kid

signed and dated: M. Antonio Canova 1811. white marble. 61 by 84cm., 24 by 33in. Estimate 8,000—12,000 GBP. Lot Sold:  15,625 GBP 

NOTE: Francesco Antonio Franzoni was one of the principal restorers of antique sculture in Rome in the second half of the 18th century. He was a favourite of Pope Pius VI, for whom he modelled a series of marble animal sculptures (some partially composed of antique fragments) for a room in the Palazzetto del Belvedere. The Goat suckling her Kid was inspired by Franzoni's work

Franzoni was trained in Carrara, but moved to Rome in the mid 1760s where he specialised in the restoration of antiquities to meet the demand of Europeans on the Grand Tour. He was recognized for his talents and rewarded with important building programs including the funerary monument of Princess Maria Flaminia Odescalchi-Chigi, the Museo Pio-Clementino and the Braschi family palazzo on the piazza San Pantaleo. The J. Paul Getty Museum has two of Franzoni's works in the collection, the marble Table with Rams and a terracotta Sketch for an Overmantel.

RELATED LITERATURE: P. Liverani, "The Museo Pio-Clementino at the time of the Grand Tour" in Journal of the History of Collections, 12, 2000, pp. 151-9; P. Fogelman and P. Fusco, Italian and Spanish Sculpture: Catalogue of the J. Paul Getty Museum Collection, Los Angeles, 2002

Sotheby's. Old Master Sculpture and Works of Art. 02 Dec 08. London. photo courtesy sotheby's. www.sothebys.com