A MARBLE FIGURE OF A YOUTHFUL MALE

The torso and perhaps parts of the legs and feet are ancient Roman; so too the head, although it seems to be sculpted from a different marble and so not original to the torso. As was the taste at the height of the Grand Tour in the 18th century, these elements were restored into a complete figure, in this case, that of the youthful hero Paris, his eastern (Trojan) ancestry confirmed by his Phrygian cap. Despite these restorations, the ancient torso can today be recognized as a depiction of Narcissos. It is a Roman copy of a Greek original of the late 5th century B.C. by a follower of Polykleitos, and is known from numerous late Hellenistic and Roman copies, including an example, in reverse, at Holkham Hall, Norfolk, England, no. 171 in Beck, Bol, and Bückling, Polyklet, Der Bildhauer der griechischen Klassik and another in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, no. 169 in the same publication.

Sir William Hamilton (1730-1803) was the British Minister Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies during the reign of the Bourbon King Ferdinand IV. He was a renowned antiquary and connoisseur who lived for 37 years in Naples, one of the main attractions of the Grand Tour. He was an avid collector of antiquities, including sculpture, vases, and gems. His first collection was acquired by the British Museum in 1772, while his second collection was dispersed, with large portions also eventually acquired by the British Museum. The publication of his vase collections, beautifully and extensively illustrated, served as the model for the Classical Revival. For the most recent discussion see I. Jenkins and K. Sloan, Vases and Volcanoes, Sir William Hamilton and His Collection.