Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 6

Pair of Sicilian stone sphinxes

About the Item

Pair of Sicilian stone statues depicting sphinxes. Their provenance can be traced to the staircase of a Palermo villa. One can observe the original mixture of human and feline features, a creative reworking of Egyptian taste in French neoclassical settings. Sicily does not slavishly follow the stylistic canons defined by Napoleon's architects, La Fontaine and Berger, but rather expresses itself with great imagination. Admirable, for example, is the decorative beaded pattern that marks the neckline of the dress and symmetrically divides the headdress on the woman's head and continues on the feline body. The two sculptures participated in the exhibition "From Brera to the Pyramids," held at the Braidense Library between Feb. 21 and April 11, 2015, with the participation of Umberto Eco, the great philosopher as well as author of the famous "The Name of the Rose."
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 23.63 in (60 cm)Width: 13.78 in (35 cm)Depth: 31.5 in (80 cm)
  • Sold As:
    Set of 2
  • Style:
    Neoclassical Revival (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    Early 19th century
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Milano, IT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU9839239769772

More From This Seller

View All
"Portrait of a Gentleman," terracotta sculpture by Etienne Edouard Suc
Located in Milano, IT
Etienne Edouard Suc was a French sculptor born in Lorient (Morbihan) on June 29, 1802. He was a student of sculptor Henri Lemaire and in turn a teacher of sculpture. Prominent among ...
Category

Antique 19th Century French Neoclassical Revival Busts

Materials

Terracotta

Pair of porcelain bisque sculptures depicting the dioscuri
Located in Milano, IT
The two sculptures depict two horses tamed by two young men. The subject can be traced back to the iconography of the dioscuri, which originated in Greek, Roman, and Etruscan mytholo...
Category

Antique 19th Century Italian Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain

Pair of molossi dogs in green marble Alps
Located in Milano, IT
The pair consists of two reproductions that can be traced back to the Grand Tour period, thus between the late 18th and early 19th centuries, of a Molosso marble sculpture of Roman o...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century Italian Classical Roman Animal Sculptures

Materials

Marble

Pair of engravings with historical subject- Guillaume Guillon Lethière
Located in Milano, IT
The two engravings, fitted with passe-partouts and framed, depict two historical episodes, to which their titles refer: "Brutus condemns his sons to death" and "The death of Virginia...
Category

Antique Early 19th Century Italian Neoclassical Revival Decorative Art

Materials

Wood, Paper

Biscuit ceramic reproduction of Laocoon Head
Located in Milano, IT
The biscuit ceramic statue is a reproduction of the Laocoon head belonging to the famous Laocoon group, itself a Roman marble copy of a Hellenistic sculpture. The discovery of the La...
Category

Antique 19th Century Italian Greco Roman Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Ceramic

Holy family with wax angels
Located in Milano, IT
The colored wax sculpture depicts the nativity with St. Joseph, Our Lady and the child in the foreground, flanked by an angel bowed in adoration. The background is enhanced by the pr...
Category

Antique Late 18th Century Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Organic Material

You May Also Like

Pair of Black Glass Sphinxes, Molineaux & Webb, circa 1875
By Molineaux & Webb
Located in Melbourne, Victoria
A pair of sphinxes in black glass. Little is known of this Manchester glassworks, but they had a very successful line in neoclassical pieces of which these are a fine example.  
Category

Antique 1870s English Neoclassical Revival Glass

Materials

Glass

Pair of sphinxes
Located in Rome, IT
Pair of marble sphinxes. ADDITIONAL PHOTOS, INFORMATION OF THE LOT AND SHIPPING INFORMATION CAN BE REQUEST BY SENDING AN EMAIL Indicative shipping costs in Italy: 290€ and Europe: 5...
Category

Mid-20th Century Italian Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble

Pair of Sphinxes, Marble
Located in Madrid, ES
While this mythological animal with a lion's body and female head is found in ancient Egyptian art, idealization, its proportions and the lines of the sculptures relate them much mor...
Category

20th Century European Neoclassical Animal Sculptures

Materials

Marble

Pair of Red and White Marble Sphinx
Located in New York, NY
Pair of red and white marble sphinx.
Category

20th Century Italian Egyptian Revival Figurative Sculptures

Materials

Marble

1930s Hand-Crafted Terracotta Sicilian Bust of a Young Girl
Located in Catania, Sicilia
A 1930s handcrafted terracotta Sicilian bust of a young girl would be a unique and potentially valuable artifact. Sicily, an island in Italy, has a rich ...
Category

Early 20th Century Sicilian Neoclassical Revival Busts

Materials

Terracotta

1930s Neo Classical Hand-Crafted Terracotta Sicilian Bust of Apollo
Located in Catania, Sicilia
This 1930s Neo-Classical Hand-Crafted Terracotta Sicilian Bust of Apollo is a captivating piece that embodies artistic skill, cultural significance, and historical charm. Its life-si...
Category

Mid-20th Century Sicilian Neoclassical Revival Busts

Materials

Terracotta

Recently Viewed

View All