CA0165 Unusual pair of Grand Tour gilt bronze busts of Antinous and Dionysus

Fantastic unusual pair of late 19th century, probably French, Grand Tour gilt bronze ormolu busts of Antinous and Ariadne/Dionysus after the popular original pairing by Leone Clerici in Rome in 1882. Antinous 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 art dealer and archaeologist Gavin Hamilton who secured it for Lord Lansdowne, an avid collector of antiquities. It now resides in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, England. The original bust of Ariadne, now believed to be to be the god Dionysus, can be seen in the Capitoline Musuem in Rome. Presented on their beautiful original but extensively repaired tall fluted classical Rouge Griotte marble columns. Striking pair seldom seen. France, circa 1885.

H 35cm x W 11cm x D 11cm