ATTRIBUTED TO GIOVANNI PICHLER (1734-1791) ITALIAN, PROBABLY ROME, BEFORE 1791 | INTAGLIO WITH CERES HESTIA

Mr Young, by 1791 [recorded in Tassie/ Raspe], possibly the agricultural theorist and economist Arthur Young (1741-1820);

Mr Yatman [recorded in the index of Tassie/ Raspe], possibly the London solicitor W. Yatman, and perhaps an ancestor of William Hamiton Yatman (1819-1913)

R. E. Raspe, A Descriptive Catalogue of a General Collection of Ancient and Modern Engraved Gems, Cameos as well as Intaglios, taken from the most Celebrated Cabinets in Europe, and cast in Coloured Pastes, white Enamel and Sulphur, by James Tassie, Modeller, arranged and described by R. E. Raspe and illustrated with Copper-Plates, London, 1791, no. 1815 [Cornelian. Mr Young. A head, after a Neapolitan or Syracusan medal, with spikes of corn. By Pichler.

The gem is recorded in Tassie/ Raspe as being by Pichler, almost certainly the 18th-century engraver Giovanni Pichler. Pichler was born in Naples and trained by his father Antonio Pichler in the art of gem engraving in Rome. In 1769 he was appointed gem engraver to Emperor Joseph II in Vienna. Pichler's fame rapidly increased and he became a favourite of Grand Tourists. He also trained a number of the most famous engravers of the next generation including Filippo Rega and Antonio Berini. Upon his death in 1791 his workshop was inherited by his half brother Luigi Pichler (see preceding lot). Given that the present gem is recorded in Tassie in 1791, it seems more likely to have been carved by Giovanni than his younger brother Luigi who was 18 at the time of the publication.

The present gem is superbly cut and compares with autograph works by Pichler. See, for example, his intaglio with Antinous in the Royal Collection (inv. no. RCIN 65825).