Castello del Buonconsiglio monumenti e collezioni provinciali

Small Bronzes and Medals

Among the collectables conserved at the Castello del Buonconsiglio, those dedicated to the small bronzes and Renaissance plaques are of important historical and artistic value. Of note, especially for their refined shapes and high-quality casting, are the models created by the Padovan workshop of Vincenzo and Gian Gerolamo Grandi, as seen in the exceptional doorknocker made up of two simple laurel branches in the form of a garland (1532-1539) and the pail marked by a refined classical decoration of festoons and ox skulls.

A refined passion for antiquities is expressed in the collection that includes very interesting examples such as the Demure Venus torso, the crab-shaped inkstand, the delicate Head of a Young Boy attributed to Simone Bianco (ca. 1525), as well as the small bronze Venus Chastising Love, attributed to Niccolò Roccatagliata (ca. 1560– 1636).

Of note among the plaques are the works by Moderno (1467-1528), the rare composition of Samson Destroying the Palace of the Philistines (ca. 1500), and the oval with the Adoration of the Shepherds by Valerio Belli (1520-1530).

The medal section is also noteworthy with particular regard to the Italian (15th-18th centuries), French (17th-19th centuries), Lorraine (18th century) and Austrian (18th-19th century) manufacture.