Italian School of the Grand Tour, last third of the 19th century

Italian school of the Grand Tour, last third of the 19th century.
"Dancing Faun".
Patinated bronze.
Measurements: 35 x 14 x 11 cm.

Male figure, crowned with oak leaves, bearded and smiling. He is in a dancing posture, with his arms raised and leaning on the tips of his feet. His right leg advances forward. He rests on a square base.

The sculpture of the Faun, unearthed in Pompeii in 1830 and found in the luxurious House of the Faun, from which it took its name, became a benchmark of ancient art. Its size facilitated the creation of multiple copies for private collections, to which fertility properties were attributed. The original bronze is exhibited today in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Current research, following Robertson's line, suggests that it is not an original work of Antiquity, but a copy of a Hellenistic piece, probably from the environment of Lysippus or later.