The Vatican Jaguar (Cat. 383)

Speranza

Hall of Animals

Jaguar Cat. 383             This sculpture is made from different fragments of alabaster.   The spots of the coat are in black and antique yellow.   The feline seems to resemble a jaguar more than a leopard, however, because it is the jaguar whose spots, at the centre, are a darker yellow than the rest of the coat.   This identification naturally makes it impossible for the central part of the sculpture to date from antiquity, seeing that the jaguar is an animal native to south America and thus unknown before the discovery of that continent.   The sculpture was bought by Pope Pius VI (1775-1799) in 1795 and, therefore, could possibly be a work by Francesco Antonio Franzoni.