Attributed to Gian Marco Cavalli (Italian, circa 1454–after 1508, activity documented 1475–1508), ‘Mars, Venus and Cupid with Vulcan at his Forge (The Mantuan Roundel),’ circa 1500. Parcel-gilt bronze with silver inlay. Integrally cast gilt frame with suspension loop. Diameter: 16 9/16in (42cm); Depth: 11/16in (1.7cm); Height with suspension loop: 18 3/8in (46.7cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase, The Isaacson-Draper Fund, Florence and Herbert Irving Acquisitions Fund, 2021 Benefit Fund, Louis V. Bell, Harris Brisbane Dick, Fletcher, and Rogers Funds and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, Walter and Leonore Annenberg Acquisitions Endowment Fund, Alejandro Santo Domingo, Michel David-Weill, David T. Schiff, Annette de la Renta, Mark Fisch, the Hon. Kimba Wood and Frank Richardson, Denise and Andrew Saul, Beatrice Stern, Wrightsman Fellows, and members of the Acquisitions Committee Gifts, 2022 (2022.6)
NEW YORK — The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced it has acquired an extremely rare bronze relief attributed to Gian Marco Cavalli, an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, print engraver and medalist who worked for the Gonzaga court in Mantua. Created around 1500, it is both the largest and one of the most technically sophisticated examples of a bronze roundel known from the early Renaissance. Lavishly embellished with gilding and silver inlay, the beautifully rendered configuration shows four figures from Roman mythology and provides new insights into the experimentation and impeccable craftsmanship that are the hallmarks of early north Italian bronzes.
