Lot 70: Leone Leoni (c.1509-1590) Allegorical Triumph of Giannettino Doria, guided by Andrea Doria as Neptune, rectangular bronze plaquette,...

Leone Leoni (c.1509-1590)
Allegorical Triumph of Giannettino Doria, guided by Andrea Doria as Neptune, rectangular bronze plaquette, 89.3mm. x 76mm., an extremely fine contemporary cast, light brown patina

Giannettino Doria, in Roman armour and holding a trident in his left hand, seated in a sea-chariot which is pulled by two sea-horses and attended by sea-monsters, looks to the right towards Neptune, with the features of Andrea Doria, naked, holding his trident in his right hand, standing in a similar chariot drawn by four horses. In the rough seas around them swim tritons. In the sky can be seen small clouds, a flock of birds, and a rainbow. At top left is the legend ANDR. PATRIS. AVSPITIIS. ET - PROPRIO. LABORE.

The plaquette celebrates Giannettino's victory, under Andrea Doria's guidance, over the Ottoman Turkish corsair Dragut in June 1540. Dragut was captured and brought back in triumph to Genoa, and served as a galley slave until he was ransomed for three thousand Scudi by his master, the pirate Khair-ad-Din.
In 1540, Leone Leoni, while working in Rome, assaulted a fellow worker, Pellegrino di Leuti, who accused him of dishonesty and forgery, and for good measure insulted Leoni's wife, Diamanta. Leoni assaulted him, and was condemned to the Papal galleys where he spent several months. In the Spring of 1541 Leoni was granted his liberty through the intercession of the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria. To show his gratitude Leoni made a number of medals celebrating Doria (see lot 137).

The present composition shows Neptune in familiar pose, the so called 'Quos Ego'. This was derived from a design by Raphael, made popular by the engraving by Marcantonio Raimondi (The original painting is lost but numerous drawings by Raphael survive, in the Louvre, the Ashmolean Museum, and at Windsor Castle). While Leoni was in Genoa, Perin de Vaga was decorating the palazzo-villa at Fassolo for Doria, and a Naufragio di Enea was among the subjects. Leoni was inevitably influenced by this (see also lots 46 and 66 above)

The 'Quos Ego' was a very well known subject and the allusion would be instantly recognised by contemporaries. The name is taken from the famous aposiopesis uttered by Neptune.The relevant passage is in Book 1 of the Aeneid, when Neptune, roused from his kingdom deep below the sea surface, arises and, after expressing his indignation and astonishment, proceeds to calm the storm that Aeolus, god of the winds, had raised, without Neptune's permission, and which threatened to destroy the Trojan fleet. The long simile that follows, the first of many in the book, is very famous. 'It had been like a sudden riot in some great assembly, when, as they will, the meaner folk forget themselves and grow violent, so that firebrands and stones are soon flying, for savage passion quickly finds weapons. But then, they may chance to see some man whose character and record command their respect. If so, they will wait in silence, listening keenly. He will speak to them, calming their passions, and guiding their energies. So, now, all the uproar of the oceans subsided.'

The compliment to the Doria family is a double one. Andrea, a great admiral, has command over the ocean, but he is also a statesman who by force of character can command respect on land. He had been offered the position of Doge at Genoa, which he had refused, but he had accepted the title Perpetual Censor, and he continued to influence the councils of the Genoese government until his death.

References
Bange 1922, 929; Cannata 60; Cott p. 157; Florence, Bargello, Carrand, 463; Kress 75; London, British Museum, T.W. Greene, 123; Maclagan p. 71; Molinier 352; Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, 119; Venice, Museo Correr, 62; Ricci, ii, p. 260, no. 392
For a discussion of the three plaquettes celebrating the Doria family by Leoni see Dora Thornton, 'A plaquette by Leone Leoni aquired by the British Museum,' in The Burlington Magazine, vo. CXLVIII, no. 1245, December 2006, pp. 828-832