Lot 61
61
A BRONZE FIGURE OF THE APOLLINO
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more
A BRONZE FIGURE OF THE APOLLINO

ITALIAN, AFTER THE ANTIQUE, CIRCA 1722

Details
A BRONZE FIGURE OF THE APOLLINO
ITALIAN, AFTER THE ANTIQUE, CIRCA 1722
On an integrally cast oval base; medium brown patina
23 in. (58.4 cm.) high
Provenance
One of the 13 bronzes purchased by Thomas, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, 15 July 1723 for a total of £300.
Thence by descent at Shirburn Castle.
Literature
T. P. Connor, 'The fruits of a Grand Tour - Edward Wright and Lord Parker in Italy, 1720-22', in Apollo, July 1998, pp. 23-30.

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:

G. Mansuelli, Galleria degli Uffizi - Le Sculture, Rome, 1961, I and II, 46 a-b.
F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique - The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900, New Haven and London, 1981, pp. 146-7, no. 7.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The antique original of the Apollino on which the present bronze is based, is recorded with certainty in the Villa Medici, Rome, in 1704. As with a large number of antiquities acquired by the Medici in Rome, this marble was later transferred to Florence in circa 1769 and by 1770 was placed in the Tribuna at the Uffizi. Like the Wrestlers the marble was moved to Palermo in 1800 to escape being looted by the occupying French. It was restored to Florence in 1803. In 1806, Denon incredulously commented that the figure was a masterpiece of antique sculpture and a much needed addition for the Musée Napoléon.

More from Important European Furniture, Sculpture and Carpets

View All
View All