Pair of architectural columns. Grand Tour. Italy, XIX century.

Pair of architectural columns. Grand Tour. Italy, XIX century.
"The Vespasian and Titus Temple" and "Temple of Castor and Pollux".
Siena marble.
Black marble pedestals.
Partial inscriptions: "ESTITVER".
Measurements: 68 x 21 x 21 (base included); 67 x 35'5 x 10'5 (base included).

Rare pair of architectural models that reproduce with remarkable accuracy the ruins of the Temple of Vespasian and Titus and the Temple of Castor and Pollux (Tempio dei Dioscuri), both located in the Roman Forum. Carved in Siena marble - of rich and warm vein - and presented on their original black marble bases, they stand out for the fineness of their Corinthian capitals, entablatures and decorated friezes. The partial inscription "ESTITVER" on the temple of Vespasian refers to its restoration in imperial times, underlining the archaeological rigor of the representation.

This type of piece is part of the tradition of the Grand Tour, the formative journey that, during the 19th century, European aristocrats and scholars made in Italy. The marble models of classical monuments, executed in Roman workshops -many of them linked to the Vatican-, were sophisticated souvenirs of a scholarly nature. Because of their quality, conservation and the rarity of being preserved as a pair, the set represents a particularly attractive example of these productions, highly valued in international collecting.