Topic: Alabastro animal...Ferret? A. Seguso?

[Martyn K]

Hi all,


seeking some opinions on my alabastro animal, 36cm (14in) long as the crow flies, retailers label for "Leone Giovanni" who apparently had a shop by the Lac de Como, Bellagio.

I'm guessing he might be a Ferret (but not too confident) maybe made by Archimede Seguso circa 1950s......?

Many thanks,
Martyn.

[kazleeb]

gosh thats gorgeous,kaz

[johnphilip]

Probably an Otter from the lake , not sure about the ears though , mind you both of my Italian mates have funny ears .

[TxSilver]

What a great animal! I don't know what animal it is, with its round ears. Otter or ferret seem good. Did Seguso do alabastro in the 1950s? Most of the alabastro I see from them date late 1960s to early 1980s. I'll bet it is A. Seguso.

[Martyn K]

I wondered about an otter JP it certainly sounds nicer, but the ears do look a bit wrong don't they and otters heads tend to look a bit more streamlined with the body to me...maybe just artistic licence though?

'Tis nice isn't it Kaz.

Don't know if AS did alabastro in the 50s Anita, my guess on the date was more based on the style of the face which has a 40s-50s feel to me....just need to turn up a comparable piece somewhere.

[TxSilver]

I looked in Pina's Archimede Seguso book and she shows some alabastro pieces from the 1950s. One of these days I am going to have to read the words of my books and not just look at the pictures. 

[Martyn K]

I was just about to say Lesley Jackson '20th Century Factory Glass' says A Seguso figurative alabastro scultures late 60's - early 70's so we crossed in mid stream....

How about Mink...popular among the jet set holidaying on the Italian lakes?

[TxSilver]

The tail is so fat, I would say that otter is the best fit. Really, I can't think of any animals other than small rodents and some marsupials that have round ears.

[johnphilip]

The birdseye view screams Otter , but it cant get much otter than today , BOOM BOOM  :kissy: :thup:

[Martyn K]

Low cloud cover and rain today....I think you scared the sun away with that joke..!

Apparently there have been no otters on Lac de Como since the 1950s and very few in Italy at all other than those recently reintroduced. The lake does have a monster though.

There are Alpine Marmots in the area, but I think they look a bit fat (the things you learn buying glass!!)