A pair of French patinated bronze figures of the Venus de' Medici and the Belvedere Antinous early 18th century

each figure with a chocolate brown patina beneath dark brown lacquer, on black painted and parcel-gilt bases.

Height of bases 4 1/2 inches. Bases with wear and rubbing to paint; nicks, chips, and losses. One gilt band missing from one base; three gilt bands missing from other. Bronzes are not fixed to bases. Male figure: losses at join and crack at upper left arm and drapery; some fill and old repair to casting flaw to area. Female figure: losses at join of upper right arm. Both with rubbing to patination to high areas and with some remainders of dark brown lacquer. Surface abrasions and nicks consistent with use and age.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

With their deep, rich brown color and the subtle modeling, this pair of bronzes is a fine example of the tradition of copying ancient marbles in varied media for the collections of both sovereigns and wealthy collectors starting as early as the sixteenth century. Copies varied widely in medium and size yet bronze was continually the preferred medium for reproductions as it was conducive for capturing the most minute of details while the cost of producing bronzes made the material synonymous with wealth and status. Throughout the seventeenth century, royal collections included a number of full-scale and smaller-scale bronze copies after the antique. Louis XIV brought the interest in collecting sculptures from the antique to an unprecedented level of popularity when in 1666 he established an art academy in Rome in order to produce statues for the gardens of Versailles. While Versailles was lavishly adorned with full scale reproductions and a few small scale bronzes, the principal sculptor to Louis XIV, François Girardon, formed an extensive collection of small bronzes. The engravings of the collection by René Charpentier show that male and female bronzes were often presented together as pairs like the present lot.

The male figure is modelled after the Belvedere Antinous, which was housed in the Belvedere garden by 1545 shortly after it was unearthed and now in the Vatican Museum. The statue’s fame quickly spread outside of Rome and monarchs throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries commissioned their own copies: a mould was made from it for Francois I by Primaticcio in 1545, a bronze cast for Charles I of England by Hubert Le Sueur in 1633, a bronze copy by the Keller Brothers in 1685 and a marble copy presumably by Lacroix in 1682 for Louis XIV and a bronze bust for Philip IV of Spain. The statue was called Antinous, which was a common moniker for all male youths; however, there were alternate, while generally disregarded, theories that it represented Milo or the Genius of a Prince. According to modern scholarly consensus, the statue is now assumed to depict Hermes.

The female figure is modelled after the Venus de’ Medici now housed in the Uffizi, Florence. It was first recorded in the Villa Medici in Rome in 1638 when it was extensively and prominently illustrated in Perrier’s anthology of the most beautiful statues. In 1677, it was sent to Florence and, by 1688, was displayed in the Tribuna of the Uffizi. Poets and artists alike tried to reproduce her beauty or “describe the indescribable,” as Byron describes his efforts at immortalizing her in poetry in Childe Harold. Moulds were taken of her prior to 1722, but were stopped due to anxiety over the damage they could cause to the marble; however, it remains one of the most copied sculptures of all time. Many of the bronze copies excluded the dolphin, which is depicted here, since the extra support was not structurally necessary in that medium. Typically, the Venus de’ Medici was paired with the Dancing Faun, another statue in the Tribuna.