CA0748 Important 18th Century Grand Tour marble bust of Lysimachus

A quite exceptionally beautiful and rare 18th Century Grand Tour marble bust of Lysimachus (361-281BC), the Macedonian General and successor to Alexander the Great as King of Thrace and Asia Minor. After the antique 2nd-century A.D. marble version of a Hellenistic original on permanent display in the Farnese Collection in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Although described throughout the 18th Century as a 'Generale Romano' and variously also referred to as the Greek statesman and orator Demosthenes or Euripides this beautifully executed portrait is now agreed to be Lysimachus shown in middle age his head turned to the side with a lined and careworn face. Very similar versions can be seen in The Royal Palace of Caserta, The Royal Collection at Hampton Court (commissioned from Le Sueur by Charles I), Trinity College Library, Dublin (by Peter Scheemakers) and the Getty Museum (by Joseph Wilton). Super condition with no breaks or repairs and only minor fritting. On original marble socle. Stunning and important piece of Grand Tour. Italian, 18th Century.

Provenance: acquired from an important private collection.

H 58cm x W 32cm x D 22.5cm
H 22 3/4" x W 12 1/2" x D 9"