NAVIGATION

An Italian Cast Bronze Coiled Snake Cast from Nature 
The surface with a rich brown patina (almost translucent in areas) 
Padova (?) Northern Italy 
Late 16th Century 

Size: 2.5cm high, 13cm wide, 9cm deep - 1 ins high, 5 ins wide, 3½ ins deep 

The 16th century Frenchman, Bernard Palissy was a true Renaissance polymath whose myriad areas of expertise ranged from painting and glassmaking to geology and natural history. He conducted experiments and wrote treatises that enriched both palaeontology and ceramics. Palissy’s legacy thrives through a series of curious, rustic ceramic dishes. The glossy, sculptural vessels and platters are glazed in vibrant jewel-tones and crawling with various animal species, forms that Palissy made by taking ‘casts’ of living, breathing creatures, ‘cast from nature’. For further reference, see: Ernst Kris, Der Stil ‘Rustique’, Die Verwendung des Naturabgusses bei Wenzel Jamnitzer und Bernard Palissy, Jahrbuch der Kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien, Neue Folge, Vol. I, 1926, pp. 137 - 208.
     During Renaissance Europe, life-casting was already widely used among 16th century metalworkers, who were creating decorative objects in gold and bronze adorned with figurines of natural species, in line with the era’s enthusiasm for the natural world, and the rise of mannerism.