Triton Blowing a Conch Shell

Adriaen de Vries, c. 1615 - c. 1617

This triton, a sea creature in the retinue of the god Neptune, is one of sixteen sculptures that together once formed part of a monumental fountain. The huge complex stood in front of Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark, but in 1659 Swedish soldiers took the statues as war booty to Stockholm. The triton originally perched on the edge of a basin, and water spouted from the shell he is blowing.

  • Artwork typefigure
  • Object numberBK-C-1997-2
  • Dimensionsheight 157 cm x width 88 cm x depth 80 cm
  • Physical characteristicsbronze

Identification

  • Title(s)

    • Triton Blowing a Conch Shell
    • Triton, Blowing on a Trumpet Shell
  • Object type

  • Object number

    BK-C-1997-2

  • Description

    Triton, zittend, met het rechterbeen over het linkerbeen geslagen en blazend op een kinkhoorn.

  • Part of catalogue


Creation

  • Creation

    sculptor: Adriaen de Vries, Prague

  • Dating

    c. 1615 - c. 1617

  • Search further with


Material and technique

  • Physical description

    bronze

  • Dimensions

    height 157 cm x width 88 cm x depth 80 cm


This work is about

  • Subject

  • Place


Acquisition and rights

  • Credit line

    On loan from the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm

  • Copyright

  • Provenance

    Commissioned by King Christian IV of Denmark (1577-1648) in 1615; installed as part of the Neptune-fountain at Frederiksborg Castle (Hillerød, Denmark), c. 1620;{L.O. Larsson, _Adrian de Vries: Adrianus Fries Hagiensis Batavus 1545-1626_, Vienna/Munich 1967, p. 69.} looted by Swedish troops, 1659;{G. Cavalli-Björkman, ‘Sweden’s Capture of the Sculptures by Adriaen de Vries’, in F. Scholten et al., _Adriaen de Vries 1556-1626: Imperial Sculptor_, exh. cat. Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum)/Stockholm (Nationalmuseum)/Los Angeles (The J. Paul Getty Museum) 1998-2000, pp. 59-63, esp. p. 63.} …; ? Drottingholm Castle, Stockholm, c. 1690;{The sculptures of the Neptune fountain were installed in the garden of Drottingholm Castle circa 1690. Unclear, however, is whether the Amsterdam Triton was still with the rest of ensemble at this time and transferred to Karlberg only later, or possibly already separated from the others. In any event, certain is that the Triton was no longer at Drottingholm Castle in 1726. See J. Böttiger, _Bronsarbeten af Adrian de Fries i Sverige, särskildt å Drottningholm_, Stockholm 1884, pp. 6 and 8.} transferred to Karlberg, Stockholm, in or before 1726;{In the Drottningholm inventories of 1744 and 1777, the Amsterdam Triton is listed as standing in the royal garden ‘Carlberg’; in 1744, it was valued at 1200 krona, see J. Böttiger, _Bronsarbeten af Adrian de Fries i Sverige, särskildt å Drottningholm_, Stockholm 1884, pp. 8, 43, 46, 48. The other sculptures from the Neptune fountain remained at Drottningholm; the other two tritons are still listed in the 1726 inventory, see ibidem p. 7, nos. 27-28.} …; Heleneborg (at Södermalm), Stockholm, first documented in 1884;{J. Böttiger, _Bronsarbeten af Adrian de Fries i Sverige, särskildt å Drottningholm_, Stockholm 1884, pp. 5-10, 53 (as at Heleneborg).} presented by the owners of Heleneborg to the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, 1950;{Inv. no. Drh Sk 161.} on loan to the museum, since 1977


Documentation


Persistent URL