Property from a Swiss Private Collection
In French, 18th century style
The Furietti Centaurs
Lot Closed
July 5, 02:41 PM GMT
Estimate
12,000 - 18,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
Property from a Swiss Private Collection
In French, 18th century style
After the Antique
The Furietti Centaurs
bronze, on brass mounted tortoiseshell pedestals
bronzes: 51 by 38 and 43 by 33cm., 20 by 15in. and 17 by 13in.
pedestals: 26 by 40.5cm., 10¼ by 16in. each
Where acquired by the present owner
The present pair of bronzes are reductions of the two monumental grey-black marble Centaurs that were excavated at Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli in 1735 and have been housed in the Capitoline Museums, Rome since 1765. The models are named after Giuseppe Furietti (1685-1764), the cardinal and antiquarian who discovered the marbles.
Following their discovery, the Centaurs became highly popular and bronze casts of the statues were acquired by major academies, such as the Royal Academy in London. The models were widely admired by affluent collectors and especially by Grand Tour travellers, who commissioned reproductions of smaller sizes in various media.
RELATED LITERATURE
F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique, The Lure of Classical Sculpture, 1500-1900, London, 1982, pp. 176-179
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