Antique Grand Tour Bronze Miniature Nude Male Seated Hermes Mercury Ares Statue
Item History & Price
This scaled miniature hollow, lost wax cast from the late 1800's is most likely Italian and measures just 4 3/8" tall. Depicted as a young, nude male athlete with winged feet. Originally excavated at Herculaneum near Vesuvius in the 1700's, this image of Mercury resting was a very popular subject for statuettes sold as souvenirs to Grand Tour travellers. This example has exceptional "ancient" patina with rubs to olden bronze on the high points and is depicted without ...fig leaf (The Victorians could be VERY proper). You will note snow white plaster/aggregate residue visible on the underside. This is left over from the molds used in bronze casting and typical of these smaller grand tour figures.
