Condition
Most of the object is covered with an iridescent layer of weathering. There is a small hole at the lower part of the body. Repairs have been made, and parts of the glass trail of the basket are missing .
Description
In-folded, tubular, flaring rim; long, cylindrical neck; globular body; flat, slightly concave bottom. Annular pontil mark (Diam. 1.3 cm) is visible on the underside of the body.
The animal’s body and head are made of yellowish glass, horns and tail of dark green glass. The basket is formed by two rows of trails curved ten times in zigzags. The lower row is made of yellowish glass and the upper of dark greenish glass.
A lump of glass was flattened into a roughly square shape and held by a pontil. To form the legs of the animal, the four corners were stretched out, pressed, and curved. On the upper surface of this mass, a thick disk was attached, around which was added a pinched band of glass. A trail was attached to this band, forming ten zigzags. Above the tips of these zigzags, another zigzagged trail was added, forming an open-shaped conical basket in which a vessel was placed and attached. A curved band of glass added at the front end was pinched and tooled at its upper end to form the long neck and elongated head of the animal. A band attached to the upper part of the head, covered with horizontal pinching, forms the long, back-turned ears of the animal, probably a donkey. Finally, a small coil of glass bent into a small ring forms the short tail of the animal.
The vessel currently sitting in the basket is not the original: a layer of greenish substance is visible under and around it, which was used to connect it to the animal in modern times.
Comments and Comparanda
See comments for cat. 399.
Provenance
1921, Enrico Caruso, Italian, 1873–1921; 1921–1923, Estate of Enrico Caruso, Italian, 1873–1921 [sold, the American Art Galleries, New York, March 5–8, 1923, lot 184, to Emile Tabbagh]; 1923–1933, Emile Tabbagh, 1879–1933 (Paris, France; New York, New York); 1933–1936, Estate of Emile Tabbagh, 1879–1933 [sold, Anderson Galleries, New York, January 3, 1936, lot 24]; 1940, Harry Leonard Simmons (New York, New York) [sold, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, April 5, 1940, lot 99, through French and Co. to J. Paul Getty]; 1940–1976, J. Paul Getty, American, 1892–1976, upon his death, held in trust by the estate; 1976–1978, Estate of J. Paul Getty, American, 1892–1976, distributed to the J. Paul Getty Museum, 1978
Bibliography
American Art Association. 1923. Illustrated Catalogue of the Rare and Beautiful Antique Art Treasures: Many of Which Came from the J. Pierpont Morgan, Spitzer, Bardac, Maurice Kann and Rodolphe Kann Collections. American and Foreign Gold Coins and Many Operatic Costumes, the Property of the Late Enrico Caruso, March 5–8, 1923, sale cat. New York: American Art Association., lot 184, ill.
Anderson Galleries. 1936c. Property of the Estate of the Late Emile Tabbagh, Paris and New York. To Be Dispersed at Public Sale by Order of the Executors. January 3 and 4, 1936, sale cat. New York: American Art Association, Anderson Galleries., lot 24, ill.
Paintings by Contemporary Artists: Brackman, Corbino, Philipp, Pushman, Lebduska, and Other Works by an Older Generation of Artists. Other Art Objects from the Collection of H. Leonard Simmons, New York, Sold by His Order: Public Sale, Paintings, April 4–5, 1940, sale cat. New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries., lot 99, ill.
Frel, Jiří. 1981. “Imitations of Ancient Sculpture in Malibu.” J. Paul Getty Museum Journal 9: 69–82., p. 69 n. 4 (cited as 78.AJ.29).
Exhibitions
None