AFTER THE ANTIQUE, ITALIAN, 18TH CENTURY

Details

A CARVED IVORY FIGURE OF THE APOLLINO
AFTER THE ANTIQUE, ITALIAN, 18TH CENTURY
Depicted standing in contrapposto leaning against a tree trunk and with his right hand above his head; on an integrally carved base; minor shrinkage cracks
7¼ in. (18.5 cm.) high

Literature

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 15% 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 ivory 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 commented that the figure was a masterpiece of antique sculpture and a much needed addition for the Musée Napoléon.

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