Pair of 17th Century Italian Travertine Mantles

A large decorative sandstone plinth or shelf from the 18th century reclaimed from a palazzo in Noto.  It could be used to support a shelf, as the leg ...

A truly beautiful hand-blown Murano glass transparent bowl blown in an uneven 'wobbly' shape with beautiful folds and curves. This bowl is in good condition.

A truly beautiful hand-blown Murano glass sommerso spherical bowl hand-blown with irridescent outer layer and deep green core attributed to the glass designer, Cenedese. This bowl is...

A beautiful pale green hand-blown Murano glass apple by design house Carlo Moretti. This very pretty piece is in great condition and makes for a perfect gift or display piece. The Ca...

Pair of painted carved wood and gesso, Italian, late 17th century, reliquary busts.

17th century, Pair of Italian Baroque Walnut Sculptures Measures: H 104 X W 60 X D 30 cm The pair of sculptures was made in the Venetian area in Italy towards the end of the 17th ce...

Italian sculptor of the 17th century, pair of candlesticks ...

Cerberus Black painted stone Italy, 17th century Measures: 80 x 69 x 36cm (one head missing) Cerberus, cruel monster, fierce and strange, Through his wide threefold throat barks as a dog Over the multitude immers'd beneath. His eyes glare crimson, black his unctuous beard, His belly large, and claw'd the hands, with which He tears the spirits, flays them, and their limbs Piecemeal disparts (Dante, Inferno, Canto VI). Cerberus figure seated, in his role of ferocious guardian of the underworld; he shows a nervous musculature, an adherent skin which reveals the ribs, long and robust limbs; his heads are broad and the eyes set well apart. Painted in black to amplify his menacing look, the infernal guardian is depicted with his famous attributes, writhing his heads, growling and barking furiously. Cerberus, in Greek mythology, was the monstrous watchdog of the underworld – also known as the “hound of Hades” – preventing the dead from leaving, and making sure that those who entered never left. A child of Typhon and Echidna, he was part of a monstrous family, which included Orthus, the Lernaean Hydra, and the Chimaera as well. Only on three occasions Cerberus was tricked by visitors of Hades: Heracles did it with his strength, Orpheus with his music. In "The Inferno", Dante places Cerberus as the guardian of the third circle of Hell. With his three mouths, Dante saw Cerberus as a beast that was synonymous with the sin of Gluttony. Virgil gets past the monster by throwing mud in his three mouths, temporarily choking him. Very rare are the representations of Cerberus in ancient statuary...