A PAIR OF ITALIAN BLACK AND SIENA MARBLE REDUCTIONS OF THE FLAMINIO AND THE LATERAN OBELISKS

19TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF ITALIAN BLACK AND SIENA MARBLE REDUCTIONS OF THE FLAMINIO AND THE LATERAN OBELISKS
19TH CENTURY
Each square-section obelisk covered with Egyptian hieroglyphs, on engraved plinths and stepped bases
24¾ in. (63 cm.) high (2)

Provenance

The late Sir Cecil Beaton, CBE, Reddish House, Broadchalke, Wiltshire, sold Christie's house sale, 9 June 1980, lot 105.

Brought to you by

Victoria von Westenholz

vvonwestenholz@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2085

Lot Essay

The Lateran Obelisk, which stands near the Lateran Palace, is the tallest obelisk in Rome, and the largest standing Egyptian obelisk in the world. It was originally built by Tuthmosis III or IV for the temple of Amun at Karnak, and was brought by Constantine II to Alexandria and then Rome in the 4th century, for the spina of the Circus Maximus. It was rediscovered in pieces in the 1587 and re-erected. The Flaminio obelisk was found and re-erected by Pope Sixtus V at the same time. It had been originally built by either Seti I or Ramses II, and was brought from Heliopolis to Rome in about 10 BC by Augustus, for the spina of the Circus Maximus.

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