Il Porcellino

Italian renaissance art in Bradley - It is a replica of Tacca’s “Il Porcellino”. The original bronze was cast/made by Pietro Tacca in 1612 and is in the Uffizi gallery in Florence, Italy. Tacca supposedly created a bronze copy of a Hellenistic marble statue from the 600’s, which was destroyed. It is a copy from Tacca’s original mold and was cast by Giuseppi Benelli in 1857. There are very few of these in the world from the original mold because the Florentine galleries don’t just let anyone get their hands on a mold. The most famous “original” copy is near Mercato Nuovo in Florence, Italy. The date in Latin is cast on the side. It is supposedly good luck to rub its nose. And as you might be able to see in the picture, the nose is shiny from rubbing.
 
Above info compliments of Jake Andrews, Italian Art Specialist, Gray, GA.