After a model by Riccio, possibly reworked and cast by Desiderio da Firenze Inkstand with a Faun, called “Pan Listening to Echo” 1530–40 Bronze with silvered eyes Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Cat. No. 23 |
This beautiful statuette exemplifies how later artists adapted Riccio’s models to fashion new compositions.
The nude figure holds a syrinx in one hand and sits with one leg tucked in and the other outstretched.
Pan holds his instrument close to his mouth but turns his attention elsewhere. .
Not an idealized shepherd, the figure bears the small horns, pointed ears, and tufted tail of a classical faun.
The basin on its thigh transforms the figure into an elaborate inkwell.
On a scholar’s desk, the classical, poetic Faun provided both the inspiration and the means for writing.
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