JEWELLERY, DECORATIVE & FINE ARTS AUCTION Tuesday, 11 October 2022 - 10:00 AM start
A pair of late 19thC bronze models after Antonio Canova (1757-1852) of the pugilists Creugas and Damoxenos,
Realised: $9,000 plus premium
Lot Details
probably Italian. Each with their Italian name "Creugante" and "Damosseno," inscribed to base, Creugas with his fist resting atop his head and Damoxenos poised to strike his fatal blow. Each raised on a marble base. Fine original patina. H.635mm and 625mm. Note: Canova's original models are housed in the Pio Clementino Museum, part of the Vatican Museums. He began sketches and models of the figures in the 1790s and completed the marble figure of Creugas in 1801. Pope Pius VII acquired it for the Vatican collections and commissioned the figure of Damoxenos as well. Canova's figures helped to fill the void left after Napoleon pillaged ancient sculpture from the Vatican collections.
