A BRONZE BUST OF BACCHUS
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A BRONZE BUST OF BACCHUS

ITALIAN, AFTER THE ANTIQUE, 19TH CENTURY

Details
A BRONZE BUST OF BACCHUS
ITALIAN, AFTER THE ANTIQUE, 19TH CENTURY
Depicted with head lowered and facing to dexter; marked to the right side of the chest with the number '50'; dark greenish brown patina; on a circular bronze socle
25¼ in. (64.2 cm.) high, overall
Literature
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:

J. Chiurazzi & Fils - Fournisseurs de Cours et Musées, 1900, no. 63, pl. 63.
S. Cassani, The National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Naples, 1996, no. 297.
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 present lot is a handsome bust of Bacchus, the ancient god of wine and revelry, which is a later cast of a Roman 1st century BC bust, itself a copy of a Greek original. It was discovered in the Villa of the Pisones, Naples, which was initially excavated between 1750 and 1761 revealing a number of exceptional bronzes and marble.

Casts of this bust were being produced in the 18th and 19th centuries especially in the Chiurazzi workshops, Naples. A version of the bust is illustrated but incorrectly identified in their catalogue as Platon (op. cit., no. 63) with the casts the same height as our bust being sold for 150 francs.

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