Italian school, ca.1600.

Italian school, ca.1600.
Obelisk.
Porphyry serpentine antico.
Measurements: 46 x 8 x 8 cm.

Made in porphyry serpentine antico (stone revered since antiquity for its density, strength and the enigmatic depth of its greenish veins), this unique sculpture condenses on a small scale the symbolic grandeur of the obelisk, sign par excellence of eternity and triumph.

The piece is erected with the sobriety and majesty typical of architectural emblems conceived to endure in the memory of the centuries. Its square plan serves as a stable foundation, evoking the solidity of the immutable. Above it rises a stylized pyramid that rests delicately on four small spheres, a detail that introduces a nuance of lightness, perhaps alluding to cosmic harmony and latent dynamism in the apparently static. The whole is crowned by a solitary sphere at the top, symbol of universal perfection and of the fullness that crowns the formal and spiritual ascent.

The aesthetic language of the object, dated around 1600, reveals the fascination of the late Renaissance for the forms of classical antiquity, reinterpreted with an ornamental rigor that combines geometric severity and subtle symbolic play. The choice of serpentine porphyry responds not only to the material excellence and the Roman tradition of using it in monuments of sacred or imperial character, but also to the desire to give this small sculpture the nobility and gravitas of an art destined to transcend time.