Small Grand Tour Bronze Belvedere Antinous

Small but beautiful, probably early 19th century, Grand Tour cabinet patinated bronze statue of the Belvedere Antinous, after the Hadrianic copy of a the original bronze by Praxiteles, discovered in 1540 and now housed in the Museo Pio-Clementino in the Vatican Collections in Rome. Described in the early 19th Century as "one of the most perfect statues that has come down to us from antiquity" and "undoubtedly one of the most beautiful heads of a young man from Antiquity". Good example, dark verdigris patina, typical of Roman workshops throughout the late 18th and 19th centuries. Mounted on a lovely later complimentary colour Connemara marble base. Interesting and rare Grand Tour bronze. Italy, probably Rome circa 1840.

H 13.5cm x D 5.25cm