Object Description
In the manner of Jan Pieter van Baurscheit (1669–1728).
Well-known for his garden sculpture grouping together in allegorical themes, this work, though not signed with his monogram, is comparative in style and composition of known works held in private and public collections, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam being one.
The sculpture depicts Jupiter (in Armour) and his son Mercury with a goose – this relates to the story of Philemon and Baucis. According to Ovid, the Gods came to stay at the old couple’s humble cottage disguised as travelers. When they came to catch their only goose for the meal the Gods revealed their true identity, and thus saved the life of the goose.
The shell upon which the sculpture sits is a symbol of the Great Flood, from which the old couple had been spared and miraculously turned into a temple – a temple at which Philemon and Baucis then served until their passing, where they promptly turned into an oak and a lime tree.