CA0218 Petite Rare Bacchus and Ariadne bust candlesticks

Unusual pair of late 19th century Grand Tour Italian gilt and patinated bronze table candlesticks of small size, almost definately for travel or possibly a secretaire or bureau. Classical column capital candle cups sit on busts of Antinous and Ariadne, after the original pairing by Leone Clerici in Rome in 1882. The busts in turn sit on gilt bronze socles and classically decorated circular bases. Antinous as Dionysus is modeled on the original marble bust, known as the Lansdowne Antinous, unearthed at Hatrian's Villa, Tivoli in 1769 during excavations undertaken by the archaeologist Gavin Hamilton who secured it for Lord Lansdowne, an avid collector of antiquities. It now resides in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. Antinous was a beautiful youth from Bythynia in Greece and the lover of the Emperor Hadrian. Deified after his death he was worshipped as a god, a hero and example of male perfection. The original bust of Ariadne can be seen in the Capitoline Musuem in Rome. Italian, circa 1885.

H 10cm x D 8.5cm