Early 18th Century Sculptures

Mercury, circa 1700s. Bronze with green patina. Height with base: 58 cm (22 7/8 in.)

Marble head of Roman empress Domitia Longina, wife of emperor Domitian. The elaborate hairstyle, a distinctive feature of Domitia's depictions, is worked in great detail, and the ser...

Large marble medallion depicting the profile of a Satyr, circle of Giovanni Bonazza, first half of the 18th century. Giovanni Bonazza was the progenitor of a family of sculptors wh...

Terracotta Lion Early 18th-century A captivating blend of power and warmth, this majestic lion sits proudly upon its base, a noble guardian of the grand estate for which it was comm...

Impressive white Candoglia marble bust depicting the Greek philosopher Diogenes of Sinope. Northern Italy, first half of the 18th century. Diogenes of Sinope, called the Cynic, was ...

Monumental and rare finely carved 18' century mythological subject sculpture of Apollo with flowers. Very good condition from an estate of Veneto. We can deliver in a wooden cases

After François Girardon 1628-1715 French Pluto Abducting Proserpine Bronze This High Baroque period composition captures the famed narrative of Pluto and Proserpine from Roman mythology. The late 17th-century patinated bronze, created after François Girardon's marble composition, captures the very moment that Pluto seizes Proserpine. The anguished goddess reaches skyward, attempting to escape the god’s grasp while Pluto’s stoic face betrays his knowledge that his ploy will succeed. This pivotal moment in the mythological tale has captured the imagination of many art historical greats, from Bernini to Rubens. François Girardon’s version of the climax demonstrates incredible finesse and artistry, modeled expertly in bronze in the present work by a later sculptor. The statue brings a twist of intertwined bodies into a dynamic frenzy, paralleling the tension of the legendary story. In ancient Roman mythology, Proserpine, the beautiful daughter of Ceres — known as Persephone in Greek mythology — was picking flowers in the fields when she was suddenly abducted by Pluto, the god of the underworld, and taken to his kingdom. Consumed with grief, her mother Ceres, the goddess of agriculture, scorches the earth, stopping the growth of grain and fruit. Jupiter attempts to intervene and secure Proserpine’s return to earth, negotiating a compromise with Pluto and the Fates that allows Proserpine to be released for part of the year before returning to Pluto’s underworld. Proserpine’s journey back and forth is an allegory for the changing seasons; when Prosperine is with her mother, the earth warms and provides bountiful harvests. Upon her annual return to the underworld, however, the earth once again becomes cold and barren. After returning to France after years of training in Rome, François Girardon quickly rose to become one of the greatest artists in France. He was elected a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in 1657 and would become Chancellor of the Royal Academy in 1695. The artist was approached frequently for royal commissions and Girardon’s Pluto was originally commissioned by Louis XIV for the gardens at his Palace of Versailles. It was one of four monumental marble groups intended to decorate the corners of Charles Le Brun’s never completed garden at the chateau, the Parterre d’Eau. Each group of three figures symbolized one of the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. Pluto’s association with hell made him the apt...

This marble medallion shows strong similarities to Etienne Le Hongre’s reception piece at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, which is now kept in the Notre-Dame Church in Versailles. While the suppleness of this sculpture evokes the Italian workshops frequented by Le Hongre before his arrival in Paris, the use of marble (and not terracotta, as was generally the case for the modelli) indicates that it is an independent artwork. It has not been possible, however, to determine whether this marble is an early work by Etienne Le Hongre, or a later interpretation of his reception piece, executed in a reduced format, by one of the Academy's students. 1. Etienne Le Hongre Etienne Le Hongre was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1653, after his apprenticeship in the workshop of the sculptor Jacques Sarazin (1592 - 1660), and a three-year sojourn in Italy. He was finally admitted to the Academy in 1667 after the presentation of a marble high-relief featuring Saint Mary Magdalene...

Buddha sculpture in wood