CIRCA 1760, IMPRESSED BAVARIAN SHIELD MARK, INCISED 180

The series of Commedia dell'Arte figures that Franz Anton Bustelli produced for the Nymphenburg factory are considered the zenith of his sculptural achievements. They are particularly unusual in that pairs of figures were designed to interact together; there are eight pairs in total and Mezzetino couples with Lalage. Mezzetino, sometimes referred to as Mezzetin in English plays, is a Commedia dell'Arte stock character sometimes thought of as Harlequin's rival. Known for his mischievous and flirtatious nature, the monkey he holds in his arms is a symbol of lust. His name roughly translates to "Half-Measure of Liquor" in Medieval Italian.

Another example of this rare model, formerly in the Maurice Rothschild collection, was sold by Christie's, London, 28 March 1977, lot 157, and is now in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich, see V.C.H. Beck, Franz Anton Bustelli, Munich, 2005, pp. 294-5, no. 151. Compare also with the bronze clock of Mezzetino in the Wallace Collection (no. S234), also depicted with a monkey.