Large pair of Grand Tour library busts of Antinous and Ariadne

Super quality pair of late 19th century Grand Tour dark patinated bronze library busts of Antinous, as Bacchus, and Ariadne after the popular original pairing by Leone Clerici in Rome in 1882. Good large sized well cast examples. 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 can be seen in the Capitoline Musuem in Rome although it is now believed to be of the god Dionysus. French or Italian, circa 1885.

Antinous: H 30cm x W 16cm X D 17.5cm
Ariadne: H 29cm x W 15cm X D 16cm 

SOLD