CA0456 Grand Tour bronze bust of Dionysus signed Sommer

Interesting, good example of a 19th century Grand Tour bronze bust of the mythological god Dionysus, the philosopher Plato, or even Zeus himself. The identity of this bust remains unclear to this day. Beautiful dark matt verdigris patination on a slightly greeny black Levanto marble socle. Bust signed G. Sommer Napoli to the shoulder for for the foundry of Giorgio Sommer (1834-1914) - one of the most highly regarded Neapolitan creaters of Grand Tour bronzes. After the antique original discovered by the Swiss archaeologist Karl Weber around 1750 during his excavations in the Villa dei Papiri, near Herculaneum the bust is now housed in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. Italian, circa 1870.

H 24.5cm x W10 cm x D 8cm