Miniature porringer

The subject seems deliberately enigmatic. Venus or a nymph lies open-eyed, but in a trancelike state, cradling Cupid in one arms and his bow in the other. Cupid is only momentarily hampered, however, for he appears ready to slip loose and strike a blow with an arrow drawn from his unguarded quiver.

The artist of this erotic group shows knowledge of various stylistic trends. A point of departure may have been Giovanni Bologna’s bronze of a sleeping nymph spied upon by a satyr (the best documented version was in Dresden by 1587; Keutner, H., in Giambologna. Exhibition catalogue, Arts Council of Great Britain, London, 1978, no. 69). Our woodcarver, encouraged by the low-lying figures, has explored a format that is simultaneously a high relief meant to be viewed from above and a statuette with secondary viewpoints, as in a group of German woodcarvings of around 1630 (Rasmussren, J. Barockplastik in Norddeutschland. Exhibition catalogue, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg, 1977, nos. 53, 54; figures of Lucretia and a sleeping nude attributed provisionally to Zacharias Hegewald, 1596–1639). The present model, though voluptuous, is relatively classicizing and may speak for a Flemish carver experimenting with this relief-like manner. In any case, it is worthy of a princely Kunstkammer and a welcome addition to the Museum’s small collection of Baroque woodcarvings.