AN ITALIAN WHITE MARBLE FIGURE OF A MAIDEN, ON PEDESTAL

This most attractive marble is representative of the finest statuary produced in Italy in the late 19th century. Its carefully pronounced details and delicate form attest to the skill of its sculptor, Antonio Rosetti. Milanese by birth, Rosetti worked largely in Rome, and was known for his genre figures. The present marble – entitled 'Venere accompagnata da putti ad una fontana’ – represents Venus seated on a fountain, leaning forward with a shell in her hand. An identical marble by Rossetti is illustrated in A. Panzetta, Dizionario degli scultori italiani dell’ottocento e del primo novocento, Torino, 1994, vol. ii, p. 168-169, no. 704. A further group of identical size to the present lot sold Sotheby’s, New York, 24 October 2006, lot 79 ($180,000).