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Coutau-Bégarie & Associés

255 - School, c. 1800, after the ancient Apollino with a lyre; bro…
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Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
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Description
School, c. 1800, after the ancient Apollino with a lyre; bronze with a brown patina, solid cast; H. 37.5 cm (base perforated in the centre) A rare variant of the Apollino, depicted with a lyre resting on a tree trunk and a piece of cloth — which he holds in his right hand, the folds of which fall naturally along his left arm. The ancient sculpture and its replicas invariably depict the Apollino accompanied by a quiver, in classical nudity. Our bronze, however, retains the same contrapposto pose as well as the facial features of the original. The Apollino, also known as the Medici Apollo, is a Roman copy of a Hellenistic sculpture depicting the young god Apollo, belonging to the type known as the Apollo Lykeios. The head of the statue has proportions similar to those of Praxiteles’ Aphrodite of Cnidus. This resemblance has led some experts to regard it as a copy of an original by Praxiteles, or at least a work closely related to his style. Other researchers, however, regard it rather as an eclectic creation from the Roman period, combining elements borrowed from the ‘Second Classicism’ style. Found intact in Rome in the 17th century, although its exact provenance remains unclear, it was originally part of the Borghese collection, before being transferred to the Medici collection at the Villa Medici, where it was recorded in 1704. The antique was finally moved between 1769 and 1770 to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence (Inv. No. 229) at the same time as the Niobides group Bibliography: F. Haskell and N. Penny, *Pour l’Amour de l’Antique – Greco-Roman statuary and European taste*, Hachette, 1988, no. 77, p. 173.
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About the sale Provenance and Collection
Auction location
Auction time 10/30/2026 at 11:00 AM
Lot description modified on 10/13/2026 at 7:34 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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