Door knocker
19th century, after 17th century original
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
Height: 14 in. (35.6 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Electrotype
Culture
British, after Italian, Bologna original
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, 1873
Accession Number
73.8.66
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming bronze door knocker, as a 19th-century electrotype reproduction by British makers after an original by the Italian Mannerist sculptor Danese Catt (c. 1509–1592), the playful spirit of Renaissance decorative arts from Bologna. Standing at 14 inches tall, it features lively figures of boys—likely putti or cherubs—interacting with female nudes, a motif common in Mannerist metalwork that blends whimsy with subtle eroticism. Cattaneo, a prominent Bolognese artist known for his intricate bronzes, drew from classical antiquity to infuse everyday objects with sculptural elegance. Electr...