SILVER FIGURE OF A CLOWN. VITTORIO ANCINI ITALY, AREZZO, SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

An expressive silver cabinet figure of a clown created by the Italian workshop Ancini in the second half of the 20th century. The sculpture depicts a comic character dressed in a typical circus costume with shortened trousers, a loose jacket and a large decorative bow tie. The plastic composition captures a moment of theatrical gesture: the figure leans slightly forward with arms spread apart, while the face conveys an exaggerated comic expression, lending the composition a sense of movement and emphasizing the theatrical nature of the image.

The figure is distinguished by the carefully modeled costume and the expressive treatment of the face. The silver surface is highly polished, producing a characteristic play of reflections that accentuates the sculptural structure of the drapery. The decorative appeal of the composition is enhanced by colored enamels on silver: a bright red nose, polychrome inserts on the bow tie and buttons, as well as contrasting shoelaces, reinforcing the theatrical character of the figure and giving it a vivid stage-like individuality.

The composition is notable for the unity of its silhouette and its well-balanced proportions. Genre figures of this type became widespread in Italian artistic silver of the second half of the 20th century and were produced as decorative interior objects intended for collecting and for the decoration of representative interiors.

Marks: Maker’s mark “ANCINI”; Italian assay marks “925 ITALY”; registered maker’s number “1547 AR” (Arezzo); additional mark “Z”.

Dimensions: Height: 20 cm. Width: 7 cm.

Weight: 0.641 kg.

Condition: Good. No gilding. Minor traces of use. No deformations, cracks or losses.

Provenance: Private European collection.