A pair of cherubic fauns, playing music. One sports a cupid's bow in one hand and blows a conch Horn. A quiver of cupid's arrows lies at his feet. The second faun accompanies on a bagpipe, his cheeks puffed and his eyes closed in concentration. They are each seated on tree stumps to show off their lovely goatlike legs and hooves.

Each of this delightful pair has been signed, inscribed to the top of the base 'J.M.Bandini' by Mario Bandini, Zaccagnini's principle sculptor. They also carry the Zaccagnini signature 'Z' under the base. Bandini was hired in 1938 to sculpt for Zaccagnini.

This pair of fauns share some of the facial features found in Austrian Secessionist figural sculpture of the 1930s, with a rustic, naive style, arched eyebrows and hooded, catlike eyes, dating them to circa 1938-1940.

It is lovely to see Bandini's signature combined with that of Zaccagnini in one place. This is an attractive prospect for the collector of Zaccagnini ceramics as the Mario Bandini/Urbano Zaccagnini partnership marked Zaccagnini's hugely successful entry to the North American market.

For lovers of stylized Art Deco and/or Austrian Secession period sculpture, these will also appeal.

They are in very good condition, with a few small, shallow chips off the translucent tin glaze on the extremities, as shown in the images for this listing.

MEASURES:

Cupid faun 252mm x 130mm x 100mm

Bagpipes faun 240mm x 120mm x 100mm.

CONDITION:

Minor losses to glaze in the form of small, shallow chips here and there on the extremities as shown in images. None more than 3mm x 1mm in area. The glaze is a rustic tin glaze over terracotta, so has natural flaws and varies from opaque to translucent.