* Lombardi (Giovita) Fowls – Cocks Fighting {1884} Loc? [SC]

Lombardi, Giovita (1837-76; Italian)
Fowls – Cocks Fighting
Marble, size unknown
Purchased, 1884; de-accessioned and sold at auction, 1943
Unidentified; present location unknown

As noted in NGV 1905, this was one of five sculptures purchased together in Melbourne in December 1884, for £1000: see also * Lombardi (Giovita) Goat and Kid {1884} Loc? [SC], etc. The sculptor is identified in the NGV’s Annual Report for 1884 as Giovita, the younger Lombardi brother, whose specialty was animals; cf. Lombardi (G.B.).

Like Melbourne’s other sculptures by this artist, this work was de-accessioned in 1943: see 1943 auction of NGV sculpture.

Refs.

AR 1884, p.35; SB, p.67 (Statues), with an added note regarding the 1943 auction; NGV 1894, p.130 (VI.Rotunda, no.14: G.Lombardi); NGV 1905, p. 37 (II.Stawell Gallery, no.4: G.Lombardi)