LATE 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY

Details

An Italian carta pesta model of Lucretia
Late 19th or early 20th century
Shown lying on the floor, a fatal wound to her neck, wearing a turban and elaborate robes, mounted on a polychrome wood panel, the reverse applied with a paper label, inscribed 'Vernon Watney'
17¼in. (44cm.) wide

Provenance

The Late O. V. Watney, Esq., Cornbury Park, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, sold Christie's House Sale, 22-24 May 1967, lot 944.

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.

Sale room notice

Please note that this sculpture is a portrayal of St Cecilia and not Lucretia as catalogued.

Lot Essay

Lucretia, a figure emblematic of Roman virtue and symbolic of the establishment of the Roman Republic. According to Roman legend she was the beautiful and virtuous wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. She was raped by Sextus Tarquinius, son of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, the tyrannical Etruscan King of Rome. Having exacted an oath of vengeance, from both father and son, she stabbed herself. Lucius Junius Brutus then led a rebellion which drove the Tarquins from Rome and led to the founding of the Roman Republic, traditionally dated 509 BC.

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