A French bronze group of Apollo and Daphne, first quarter 20th century

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A French bronze group of Apollo and Daphne, first quarter 20th century
Depicting the instant of Daphne's transformation, her upraised hands and hair modelled as laurel leaves and twigs, her body becoming the trunk, the pursuing Apollo stretching forwards to her left shoulder with his left arm, on a naturalistically modelled base, with indistinct signature and dated 1923 ?, above a rectangular marmo nero Belgio base -- 15¾in. (40cm.) high overall

Lot Essay

Ovid relates the legend that when Daphne was pursued by Apollo she called on her mother Gaia the Earth Goddess for help. Gaia transformed her daughter into a laurel tree, which was thenceforward Apollo's favourite tree.

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