CA0368 Fine early 19th century pair of Venus and Arrotino bronzes

A fine and substantial early 19th century Grand Tour pair of patinated bronzes of The Crouching Venus and Arrotino, the Blade Sharpener, after the pairing in the Tapis Vert in the Palace of Versailles in 1686 by Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720) and Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725). Super quality castings, beautifully patinated, presented on the original solid Sienna marble plinth bases with a patinated bronze architrave on a further Sienna marble slab base. Antoine Coysevox was directly influenced by the antique marble Borghese version of the Crouching Venus when he created his large marble original sometimes referred to as the Venus à la Tortue. Venus is modelled at her toilette, kneeling in a stream, sitting on a tortoise. The representation of Arrotino is thought to be a figure from a Hellenistic-Roman group depicting a Scythian slave preparing a knife for the god Apollo, who was about to flay the satyr Marsyas and is now on display in the Tribuna of the Uffizi in Florence. A classic pairing designed to sit either side of a mantel shelf or commode. Old repair to the base of the Arrotino figure. Probably French, circa 1830.

H 34cm x W 18.5cm x D 12cm