Rare statuette de Capodimonte représentant un bossu ou 'Gobbino' de la Commedia dell'Arte, circa 1755

A rare Capodimonte figure of a hunchback or 'Gobbino' from the Commedia dell'Arte, circa 1755

Modelled by Giuseppe Gricci, wearing a yellow pointed hat, a jacket edged in purple with blue cuffs and gilt buttons, purple-striped breeches and yellow shoes, 12.2cm high (restored)
Footnotes:
Provenance
With Lukacs and Donath (paper label to the base);
European Private Collection since the 1980s

Another example of this rare figure in the Museo Nazionale di San Martino is illustrated by Angela Caròla-Perrotti, Le porcellane dei Borbone di Napoli (1986), no. 103. The author notes that Giuseppe Gricci seems to have taken the French Commedia with its more restrained clothing as an example, and also been inspired by Jacques Callot's Balli di Sfessania in the arm gesture. The female counterpart for this group, Colombine, is in the collection of the Museo Teatro della Scala in Milan.

The hand at his hat and tip of his hat are restored, his arm restored on that same side from the elbow, possibly filled in places, there are some smaller filled chips to the rim of his hat too, there is restoration to the base of the sockle, likely due to a restored chip, and there is restoration through his standing leg and the log-sockle behind him, possibly indicating the figure was broken off the base, although there is no obvious restoration through the leg or foot.