RESTORATION OF THE PORPHYRY TAZZA.
It was at this time that the Royal Manufactory of Pietre Dure finished the restoration of the famous Tazza of porphyry—a most precious and rare object, which, from the time of Cosimo I., to whom Pope Clement VII. presented it, had remained hidden in the store-rooms, and in great part mutilated. Now, as I have said, owing to the great care and intelligence of the directors, united to the goodwill and money of the Prince, it had been restored to its pristine beauty and perfection. In order that this work, which is also an historical record, should be properly exhibited by itself in the Royal Gallery, the Grand Duke desired that it should be placed on a base with a new and rich design, which should at once be a completion and adornment of the Tazza itself, and also offer an occasion for a work of sculpture. In matters of this kind this excellent Prince was intelligent, earnestly entered into them, and gave full liberty to the artist who wrought for him; and this work he would have carried out had not the revolution interrupted it. But let us not be in a hurry.
I imagined a base of a form naturally cylindrical, with ovolo mouldings. That from below the base of the Tazza descended in a vertical line to the base, which stood upon a quadrate plinth. Between the base and the Tazza—that is to say, on the first cylinder—was a complete history of the Tazza, by means of symbolical figures which represented its origin, fortunes, and final destination. Perhaps this Tazza once embellished the immense gardens of the ancient Pharaohs; and when their empire was overthrown by the power of Rome, all things great and precious which the genius and power of the nation had produced were either destroyed or carried off. This Tazza, as well as the famous obelisks, were brought to Rome. On the fall of the Roman Empire, the Tazza and obelisks remained, and the former was presented by Clement VII., together with other precious objects (among which was the Venus—so called—de' Medici), to Cosimo I. After the Medician domination was over, the Tazza remained forgotten, until it was restored, as I have said, and placed in the Pitti Gallery, where it now stands.
THE BASE OF THIS TAZZA.
To express artistically this history, I imagined four groups, representing Thebes with the genius of mechanics, Imperial Rome with the genius of conquest, Papal Rome with the genius of religion, and Tuscany with the genius of art. Thebes is in a sad and thoughtful attitude, with a simple vest without mantle, and has on his head the Egyptian fillet. He holds by the hand his genius, who frowning and unwillingly follows after him and looks backward, recalling "il tempo felice nella miseria." In his hand he carries a pair of broken compasses, to denote his lost empire over science and art; and at his feet is a truncated palm, around which is coiled and sleeping the sacred serpent. Imperial Rome stands in a proud attitude, resting her right hand on the consular fasces, and the left hand gathering up her mantle, which falls to her feet. She is crowned with oak-leaves, and above her head is a lion-skin in the shape of a helmet. Her genius, with a bold step and fierce aspect, grasps a lance and a torch, implements of destruction and emblems of iron and fire. Papal Rome stands still, with three crowns on her head, from which the fillets descend upon her breast. She is dressed in the pontifical robes, and holds closed upon her breast the Bible. Her genius, dressed in a Levite tunic, and with one hand holding a cross and the other placed upon his breast, in sign of faith and humility, treads on a serpent, the symbol of error, which even from the earliest time insinuated itself into the Church. Tuscany is in the act of walking. On the diadem which crowns her head are engraved the Tiber and the Magra, the rivers which bounded ancient Etruria. She holds the royal sceptre in her right hand, and in her left the palladium of the arts. Her genius is crowned with laurels, and leans upon a cippus, on which are disposed the implements which are used in the arts of poetry, music, sculpture, painting, and architecture, bound together by a branch of olive, to denote that the arts are only developed during peace.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BASE.
This conception, which was clearly expressed in a sketch, met with the approbation of the sovereign, and he ordered me to model it on a large scale, to be cast in bronze. Afterwards, it seeming to me that the dark hue of bronze, added to the shadow cast by the Tazza itself, would injure the effect of my work, I sought and obtained permission to execute it in marble; and I was at once paid for my model. In the meantime, in consequence of rich work of great delicacy, it became necessary to seek for some marble which should be hard, white, and beautiful; for this work differed from others in having no back view, in which ordinarily the imperfections of the marble can be hidden, but was exposed on all sides, in consequence of its round form, every point of view being a principal one. Hence there was a difficulty in finding a block entirely free from blemish, and having no spots to injure the view of any important part. The search for this consumed much time; and when at last I had a clear hope that I had found it, the revolution first suspended, and afterwards ended, everything. I shall return to this subject later, and at present I shall go on.
CHAPEL OF THE MADONNA DEL SOCCORSO.
At the same time the Grand Duke ordered me to decorate a chapel of the Madonna del Soccorso at Leghorn. Of this, which is the first on the left on entering the church, he had become the patron. The chapel was to represent the entire life of the Madonna. I made a large sketch, in relief, of the chapel and the ornaments of the altar, with statues and pictures on the side walls. In the great lunette over the altar, I designed and coloured the Annunciation of the Virgin. In the empty spaces between the arc of the lunette and the side walls, which are trapezic like half pedestals, were angels painted upon a mosaic ground of gold, and holding spread out rolls of papyrus, on which were written the prophecies of the Virgin and of Christ. The altars I made with columns and round arches, with a straight base, after the style of the Quattrocentisti. The table of the altar represented the return from Calvary of the Virgin with St John. Behind, in the distance, were seen the crosses, and the angels of the Passion weeping and flying from the sorrowful scene. This also I designed and coloured in my sketch. Under the table, and through a perforated screen, was seen the dead body of Christ, illuminated by hidden lights. The statues in the niches of the lateral walls were to be St John and St Luke, as those who had specially written about the Virgin. In the two lateral walls above the niches, there were to be two pictures representing the Nativity and the Death; and these compositions, as well as the sketches of the two statues of John and Luke, I did not carry out, relying upon the intelligence of the Grand Duke, which would enable him to judge from what I did do.
WORKS ORDERED BY THE GRAND DUKE.