Circle of Romolo Ferrucci del Tadda (1544-1621), Florence, circa 1600

Private Collection, Florence

These rare seated terracotta dogs, conceived as pendants, belong to a tradition that dates back to Antiquity. The term molossus refers to the Molossians, an ancient Greek tribe from Epirus renowned for their powerful dogs. Their earliest depictions appear in Athenian necropoleis. In the Roman period, such dogs were often placed as guardians at the entrances of villas and temples. The two Molossian Dogs of the Belvedere, flanking the entrance to the Octagonal Court of the Vatican and watching over the most celebrated ancient sculptures of the Belvedere, are among the most famous examples of this distinctive iconography derived from Hellenistic models (Museo Pio Clementino, inv. MV.872.0.0). In Pompeii, a mosaic from the “House of the Tragic Poet” depicts a similar dog, poised to leap, accompanied by the inscription Cave canem (“Beware of the dog”), a warning to unwelcome visitors. Several examples of this type have survived, including another mosaic found at the threshold of the “House of Orpheus,” also in Pompeii (Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples, inv. 110666).

In Florence, during the last quarter of the 16th century, the Medici court indulged in a true fascination with nature. Representations of animals populated gardens and adorned fountains. Particularly noteworthy is the impressive ensemble of bronze birds attributed to Giambologna and Bartolomeo Ammannati, in which each species is rendered with remarkable naturalism (Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence). Renaissance sculptors naturally drew inspiration from antique representations of Molossian dogs. Romolo Ferrucci del Tadda, a sculptor active to the court of Cosimo I de’ Medici, excelled in such animal subjects. Several of his stone dogs, with tense musculature, powerful jaws, and expressive gazes, comparable to the present Molossian Dogs, still stand guard along the alleys of the Boboli Gardens; others are found in the gardens of the Villa Caruso at Bellosguardo.

In the seventeenth century, Filippo Baldinucci wrote of Ferrucci that he “excelled in the sculpting of all kinds of quadruped animals in stone, greatly enhancing the charm and beauty of the Boboli Gardens”, adding that “we know of no one before him who did more or better”. Ferrucci’s reputation for animalier sculpture thus spread beyond Tuscany, reaching the courts of northern Italy, including that of the Duke of Mantua. Between 1580 and 1584, when Albert de Gondi, a member of a Florentine banking family established in France and a favorite of Catherine de’ Medici, built his Parisian palace, he called upon Ferrucci’s services. For a fountain in the Gondi gardens, Ferrucci sculpted an assembly of animals enchanted by the music of Pietro Francavilla’s marble figure of Orpheus (musée du Louvre, inv. MR 1858).

The present Molossian Dogs — of remarkable quality — bear a strong resemblance to another pair of seated dogs, by Ferrucci, placed along an avenue leading to the basin of the “Isola di Venere” (later transformed into the “Isola di Oceano”).

RELATED LITERATURE

G. Pratesi (dir.), Repertorio della scultura fiorentina del Seicento e Settecento, Turin, 1993, Vol. I, pp. 44–45 ; Vol. II, nos 148–149;

G. Capecchi, I cani in "pietra bigia" di Romolo Ferrucci del Tadda. Simbolismo e "capriccio" nel giardino di Boboli, Florence, 1998.