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Premium Hôtel des Ventes de Monte-Carlo
54
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IN THE ANTIQUE STYLE STANDING DOG WITH A COLLAR
Carved marbl…
See original version (French)
54
-
IN THE ANTIQUE STYLE STANDING DOG WITH A COLLAR
Carved marbl…
See original version (French)
Estimate €2,000 - €4,000
Voluntary lot
Description
IN THE ANTIQUE STYLE
STANDING DOG WITH A COLLAR
Carved marble, in the style of Roman animal sculptures
Dimensions: 29 × 30 cm
Italy, 18th–19th century
A figure of a dog carved from light, veined marble, depicted standing with all four paws resting on a rectangular plinth, part of which has been left unfinished. The animal, with a slender and muscular silhouette, holds its head high, muzzle raised and ears pricked, in an alert posture. It wears a buckle collar. A supporting element in the shape of a trunk or rock, visible between the legs, stabilises the sculpture — a common feature in stone sculpture. The head, with its tapered muzzle and pricked ears, is rendered with precision.
Analysis
This type of sculpture—a standing, alert dog wearing a collar, set on a plinth supported by a base—derives from the Roman repertoire of marble dogs, which were themselves often based on Hellenistic bronze originals. It can be linked to two well-documented groups: the Monte Cagnolo greyhounds (marble, 2nd century AD, unearthed in 1774 by Gavin Hamilton near Lanuvium; one group in the Sala degli Animali at the Vatican Museums, another almost identical in the British Museum’s Townley Collection); and the type of Molosser guard dog, exemplified by the Jennings Dog in the British Museum (a 2nd-century Roman copy of a Hellenistic bronze), of which a pair of heavily restored Molossers with pointed ears is housed in the Museo Pio-Clementino in the Vatican.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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