silver, free replica of the Fountain of Orion by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli in Messina, round form, octagonal base supported by 4 hippocampi, base with 4 sculptural putti on dolphins, 4 shellwork bowls with mascarons, centre with 4 partly sculptural Tritons, the latter supporting the middle basin, 4 sculptural nymphs supporting the top basin, finial in the form of 4 female busts surmounted by a sculptural putto with dolphin, height 55 cm, base 53 x 53 cm, weight 6101 g, master’s mark "GIOS DANG" = Gioseppe d'Angelo, Messina hallmark, c. 1670, (Lu)

A superbly crafted museum-quality Sicilian table fountain. This table fountain was once in the J. P. Morgan collection and is one of the very few surviving large silver objects from 17th century Messina. It was designed as a free replica of the famous Fountain of Orion by Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli (1507 - 1563). The table fountain offered here is illustrated in the auction catalogue of the J. P. Morgan Collection (incorrectly assembled in the illustration at the time), New York, 30 October 1947, lot 323. The present table fountain is also illustrated in the publication by Maria Accascina, "Di Pietro Juvaro e di Altri Orafi di Casa Ruffo a Messina" (p. 63). This table fountain is the most important preserved sculptural table object manufactured by the silversmiths of 17th century Messina. The only preserved object that is similar in style and execution is a salt vessel by Sebastiano Juvaro, in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It is documented that Giuseppe d'Angelo collaborated with the Juvaro family. Antonio Ruffo (1606 - 1678), the youngest son of the Duke of Bagnara, may have commissioned this work.

Provenance:
J. P. Morgan, Wall Hall, Watford, Hertfordshire and 12 Grosvenor Square London, The Estate of J. P. Morgan, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, 30 October 1947, lot 323.
Paula de Koenigsberg A Lady, Christie's, New York, April 19, 1990, lot 390.
Christies, Important Silver and Objects of Vertu, April 17, 1996, lot 53.

Literature:
Maria Accascina, “Di Pietro Juvaro e di Altri Orafi di Casa Ruffo a Messina”, Antichita Viva, I, 1962, illustrated p. 63.
Maria Accascina, “Oreficeria di Sicilia”, Palermo, 1974, S.336-338, illustrated as fig. 220.Maria Accascina, “i Marchi delle Argenterie e Oreficerie Siciliane”, Trapani, 1976, p.102, illustrated as figs. 44a and b. Maria Concetta Di Natale, “Gli argenti in Sicilia tra rito e decoro”, in Ori e Argenti di Sicilia dal Quattrocento al Settecento, exhibition cat., Trapani, 1989,p.150.
The Silver Society Journal, Winter, 1990, illustrated p.26.
Christopher Hartop, "A Silver Fountain by Giuseppe d'Angelo”,Christie's Review of the Season, 1990, p.360-363.