Late 18th Century Sculptures

ANCIENT ROMAN MARBLE RELIEF FRAGMENT Rome, 1st Century b.C. marble 23 x 15 x 5 cm without base 9 x 6 x 2 in

"Pair Recumbent Stone Lions" after Antonio Canova (1757-1822) Italian (possibly Florence) Mid 19th Century Alabaster, marble 6 x 9 x 4 inches This is an exquisite pair of Italian alabaster lions on marble bases based on the monumental lions carved by Antonio Canova (1757-1822), the greatest Italian neoclassical sculptor. Canova sculpted the marble lions for the monumental tomb of Pope Clement XIII in St. Peter’s, Rome in 1792 Canova Lions refers to the pair of copies of lion sculptures by Antonio Canova. When Canova created the sculptures in 1792, he installed them on the tomb of Pope Clement XIII. The marble sculptures are some of the most prominent features in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Given the intricacies of creating the original Canova lions, some artists created molds and replicated them. A good example is the pair of lion sculptures...

Wearing a chiton with a himation draped at the left shoulder, and a modius on the crown of his head, the god's characteristic luxuriant wavy hair falling in ri...

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...

Signed and dated: ‘F. Harwood Fecit 1764’ Collections: Probably commissioned by Alexander Gordon, 4th Duke of Gordon (1743-1827); Probably by descent at Gordon Castle, Banffshire to c.1948; Possibly acquired by Bert Crowther of Syon Lodge, Middlesex; Jacques Hollander (1940-2004); Christie’s, 5 December 2013, lot 101; Private collection; Sotheby’s, 2 July 2019, lot 106 Literature: John Preston Neale, Views of the seats of noblemen and gentlemen, in England, Wales and Scotland, London, 1822, vol.I, unpaginated. This marble copy of an ancient bust in the Musei Capitolini usually identified as Faustina the Younger, the daughter of Antoninus Pius and future wife of Marcus Aurelius, was made in Florence by Francis Harwood in 1764. Harwood was one of the most prolific suppliers of decorative marbles for the Grand Tour market and this finely worked example demonstrates the quality of luxury goods available to travellers to Italy. So often anonymous, this unusually signed and dated example, raises questions about the status of marble copies in the period and of sculptors such as Harwood who are known principally for ornamental work. Harwood’s origins remain obscure. He is documented living in Palazzo Zuccari with Joshua Reynolds and the Irish sculptor Simon Vierpyl at Easter 1752, he had certainly settled permanently in Florence by the following year, when he is recorded working with Joseph Wilton. He was admitted to the Florentine Academy on 12 January 1755 (as pittore Inglese, although he was described as scultore in the matriculation account). After Wilson returned to England in 1755 Harwood appears to have worked in a studio near SS. Annunziata with Giovanni Battista Piamontini who had made life-size copies of The Wrestlers and The Listening Slave for Joseph Leeson in 1754. In 1758 both sculptors were contracted to make a statue and a trophy to complete the decoration of the Porta San Gallo, Harwood completing a statue of Equality, installed the following year. By 1760 Harwood was on the brink of his most productive period as a sculptor, producing copies of celebrated antiquities for the ever-increasing audience of Grand Tour travellers and for the domestic market in London. In 1761 Harwood met the young architect James Adam who was in Italy specifically to make contact with suppliers for Robert Adam’s burgeoning practice back in Britain. The Adams offered a remarkably cohesive design package to their clients, encompassing not just architecture, but fixtures, fittings and furniture as well. Harwood was able to supply the brothers with marbles for their new interiors. At Syon, for example, Harwood produced a full-size copy of Michelangelo’s Bacchus for the new dining room the Adams had designed for Hugh Smythson, 1st Duke of Northumberland. Harwood seems to have also specialised in producing sets of library busts. In 1758 Charles Compton, 7th Earl of Northampton, a distinguished traveller commissioned a set of busts which remain in situ at Castle Ashby in Northamptonshire. It is perhaps no coincidence that the Adam brothers were producing designs for new interiors at Castle Ashby at this date. The set included representations of: Cicero, Julius Caesar, Marcus Aurelius, Faustina the Younger, Sappho, Seneca and Homer. Each of these busts Harwood seems to have replicated for multiple patrons, another Adam patron, Thomas Dundas...

Ercole Rosa (Italian, 1846 - 1893) Frine (Phryne) Marble Signed 'E. Rosa, Studio O. Andreoni, Roma' on back 34.5 x 12 x 10 inches 80 lb. Phryne was a 4th century BC famous Greek ...

19th Century Italian School Grand Tour Bronze Sculpture of Dionysus, 19th Century Bronze with black-green patination 24 x 10 x 10 inches Dionysus, in Greco-Roman religion, a nature ...

Signed: A. Carrier-Belluese Two large bronze matching busts of an unknown male and female 22 x 10 x 11" male 23 x 10 x 9" female Both show signs of wear with their age but are in fa...

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

Wonderful Italian sculpture representing a seated maiden. The artwork rests on a square marble base Signed on the base “Gaetano Martinez Roma” According a written opinion by Prof. Al...

"Musidora" by Odoardo FANTACCHIOTTI (1809-1877) Sculpture made in white Carrara marble signed on the side on the base " O. Fantacchiotti " Italy around 1862 height 110 cm diameter ...

Tuscan Sculptor of the 20th Century - Female Nude, Dated 1945 Artist: Giorgio Rossi (San Piero a Sieve, 1892 - Florence, 1963) Nude Woman with Hands Above the Head, Dated 1945 Terracotta, signed and dated on the back ("Giorgio Rossi 1945") Height: 52 cm Description: This elegant terracotta sculpture, signed and dated 1945, depicts a young nude woman standing next to a tree trunk, with her hands raised and resting behind her head. The figure strikes a delicate balance between introspection and poise, without ever falling into the rigidity of academic mannerism. Carved with particular attention to the curving lines and the fluid rhythm of the pose, the sculpture recalls a quiet classical sensuality filtered through the lens of a refined Tuscan humanism. The work is representative of Rossi's mature style, marked by a return to essential forms and the influence of the 15th-century Florentine masters, notably Donatello. The figure's relaxed yet composed posture, the lean and well-structured anatomy, and the harmony of proportions reflect the sculptor's pursuit of spiritual truth through simplicity of form. The sculpture is an expressive synthesis of grace and inner calm, in line with Rossi's aesthetic ideals in the immediate postwar period. A discreet and well-executed restoration is visible at the waist and right arm. According to the artist's family, the damage was caused by the devastating flood of November 1966, which affected his studio on Via degli Artisti in Florence. The restoration was done with care and respect for the original patina. Condition: In good overall condition, with traces of an old restoration (waist and arm), consistent with the flood of 1966 in Florence, as confirmed by the artist's family. Provenance: Directly from the family of the artist. Exhibitions (selected participations by the artist): - 1906, 1912-13, 1916-18: Society of Fine Arts, Florence - 1920: Exhibition of Sacred Art, Venice - 1925: Prince Umberto Prize, Milan Permanente - 1930, 1936: Venice Biennale - 2007: Giorgio Rossi. Sculptor in the Short Century, Palazzo Panciatichi, Florence - 2010: Voices from within. The Sculpture of Giorgio Rossi, Sala delle Colonne, Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze - 2011: In the Sign of the Sieve, Hall of Heroines, Municipal Palace, Pontassieve - 2013: Faces from the past. Giorgio Rossi and his Muses, Medici Riccardi Palace, Florence Bibliography: - Voices from within. The Sculpture of Giorgio Rossi, ed. Stefano De Rosa, Florence, Edizioni Polistampa, 2010, p. 69 (illustrated) - Gigi Salvagnini, Giorgio Rossi. A Long Journey to the Twentieth Century, Centro Libero Andreotti, Florence, 2003, p. 20 About the artist: Giorgio Rossi was born on January 13, 1892 in San Piero a Sieve, Tuscany. Trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence, he studied under Antonio Bortone, from whom he inherited a rigorous sculptural discipline and a strong sense of artistic integrity. Rossi debuted at the age of fourteen at the Annual Exhibition of the Società di Belle Arti in Florence in 1906 and went on to exhibit regularly in the following decade. During the 1910s and 1920s, his work was showcased in major national exhibitions, including the Mostra d'Arte Sacra in Venice (1920), the Concorso Duprè in Florence, and the Milan Permanente. He received awards and commissions for both public monuments and funerary sculptures, and in 1918 he was named honorary member of the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno. In the 1930s, Rossi participated twice in the Venice Biennale (1930 and 1936), confirming his national relevance. His sculptures in alabaster gained recognition in Volterra, where he taught at the Artistic-Industrial School for Alabaster. There, he combined classical training with a personal language inspired by the Tuscan quattrocento, especially Donatello, whom he considered a timeless reference point. He was included in the Dictionary of Italian Sculptors by Ugo Ojetti and Adolfo Comanducci, a testament to his recognition among his contemporaries. Despite living in relative seclusion in his later years, particularly after returning to Florence from Volterra, Rossi continued to sculpt, focusing on terracottas that captured the psychological depth and human dignity of his subjects. Rossi's art has been described as a "stoic coherence"-a personal humanism, reflective yet detached from avant-garde extremes. In 2007, his work was the subject of a major retrospective at Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, titled Giorgio Rossi. Sculptor in the Short Century, which reaffirmed his place in the canon of 20th-century Tuscan sculpture...