Tripod inkwell in bronze, Venice or Padua late 16th century

VENICE OR PADOSA: Bronze inkwell, the gadrooned receptacle, resting on three feet in the shape of winged newts, the tail in curl. The lid is patterned with large acanthus leaves in relief, surmounted by a putto holding a booklet.
An attribution has been given to the entourage of the founder Giuseppe Levis (a work of similar typology attributed to the Bottega by G Levis is now kept in the Museo Nazionale di Ravenna). This rare inkwell is also to be compared with some works by the bronze-maker Niccolo ROCCATAGLIATA. One can quote two inkwells illustrated in A. GIBBON "Guide des Bronzes de la Renaissance Italienne" éditions Boisgirard, Paris, 1990, page 300/301 fig. 319/320. Also to be compared with another bronze in the old Abbott GUGGENHEIM collection (see the catalog of the exhibition "Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes Abbott Guggenheim Collections" published by The Fine Art Museum of SAN FRANCISCO 1988, pages 64/65, catalog n°20.
Beautiful brown patina.
Late 16th century