Grand Tour patinated bronze of Thorvaldsen's Ganymede

Very rare enigmatic late 19th Century Grand Tour patinated bronze of Bertel Thorvaldsen's Ganymede with Jupiter's Eagle. Rich black even patination, signed GIU. NELLI. F (Nelli Fonderia) to right hand corner of the base of the bronze. The Nelli foundry in Rome was established around 1880 and became the leading sculpture foundry in Rome up to 1900 when Nelli moved their operations to Russia at the Court of the Tsar from 1900-1905. The notable abscence of ROMA at the end could indicate that this example is from Russia. Thorvaldsen modelled the original marble group in 1817 as a commission from Lord Gower and it exists in several marble copies, one of which is displayed in the Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen. Thorvaldsen made five sculptures of the boy Ganymede, the most beautiful of mortals, who was carried away by Jupiter’s eagle to be the cup-bearer to the king of the gods. According to legend it was Zeus, in the shape of an eagle, who took the beautiful boy from Phrygia (note the Phrygian cap, symbol of liberty in the French Revolution) in the north-western part of Asia Minor. The amphora seems to be a later replacement. Bronzes of Thorvaldsen's works are rare. Italian or Russian, circa 1900.

H 36cm x W 49cm x D 18.5cm

SOLD