1912 Italian Bronze Boy Drinking From Jug Sculpture - Costantino Barbella - 16"

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A beautiful and highly expressive antique Italian patinated bronze cabinet sculpture titled "Contadinello che Beve" (Little Drinking Peasant Boy), originally … Read more A beautiful and highly expressive antique Italian patinated bronze cabinet sculpture titled "Contadinello che Beve" (Little Drinking Peasant Boy), originally modeled by the celebrated Italian master Costantino Barbella (1852–1925). A prominent figure of the 19th-century Italian Realism (Verismo) movement, Barbella was universally renowned for capturing highly emotional, lifelike snapshots of rustic folk life. The sculpture depicts a barefoot peasant boy wearing detailed draped trousers and a floppy sun hat, throwing his head back to drink eagerly from a large double-handled water jug.
The work features an exceptional multi-toned dark brown and hazelnut patina. The bronze ground features the artist's incised script signature "C. Barbella" cast directly into the textured earth base. Rare, crisp historical production stamps are cast into the lower front rim of the bronze base, explicitly detailing an authorized 1912 production date alongside an individual foundry stamp number 22fx, providing definitive proof of its early 20th-century antique casting history. The bronze is handsomely mounted to a square, polished black marble display plinth. See less