16 Inches High x 12 Inches Wide x 2 Inches Deep
This piece is a fragment of Cupids with Garland (Item #194). In the elegant scene, cupids or cherubs in high relief play in the foreground with a garland while details of the setting are sculpted in shallow relief in the background. Here, on the left side of the original, two cupids attempt to catch a butterfly. The third figure looks surprised at his position on the ground. Our antique P.P. Caproni and Brother catalogs identified the artist as Pietro Ghiloni. However, there were two artists with that name during the turn of the 20th century: the Italian sculptor, decorator, and marble worker who was active in New York and New Orleans (1864-1932), and the sculptor who was also an assistant to sculptor George Grey Barnard. There is not much information to be found on either artist.
Artist: Pietro Ghiloni
Time Period: Modern, early 20th century
1911 Catalog ID # – 13552
Sources:
Encyclopaedia of New Orleans Artists, 1718-1918. Editors John A. Mahé II, Rosanne McCaffrey; assistant editors Charles S. Buchanan et. al.; general editor Patricia Brady Schmit, The Historic New Orleans Collection, 1987, pp. 156. Artprice, https:///artist/226018/pietro-ghiloni/biography.
“The Marble Shooter 1925 Atlantic City Marble Tournament Trophy Pietro Ghiloni.” WorthPoint, https:///worthopedia/marble-shooter-1925-atlantic-city-1798996815.
“Pietro Ghiloni.” askART. http:///artist/Pietro_Ghiloni/10020061/Pietro_Ghiloni.aspx.