Perfume burner

attributed to Desiderio da Firenze (active 1532 - 1545)

Ashmolean Museum

circa 1530- 1540

Three linked sections ambitiously decorated with figures (including three which may represent the gods Jupiter, Neptune and Vulcan), grotesque/satyr/medusa masks, winged putti and numerous swags, shells and garlands. Crowning the burner is a satyr, perhaps Pan, seated on a large upturned shell and holding a set of pipes. Burning charcoal would have been placed in the base, heating scented pastilles on the platform above to produce perfumed smoke which swirled out of the carefully positioned holes. This work was acquired with assistance from the Wolfson Foundation.

• Medium: bronze & traces of gilding
• Dimensions: height: 51.2cm
• Art Fund Grant: £150000 ( Total: £980,000; Export stopped)
• ArtFunded in: 2003
• Vendor: Daniel Katz Ltd

Provenance

Sir Julius Werner; Sir Harold Werner; Christie's 2000; Daniel Katz Ltd.

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