AFTER THE ANTIQUE, A RARE LIFESIZE LEAD FIGURE OF THE BORGHESE GLADIATOR

AFTER THE ANTIQUE, A RARE LIFESIZE LEAD FIGURE OF THE BORGHESE GLADIATOR ENGLISH, 19TH CENTURY Lead on octagonal stone base 156cm high, base 100 by 60cm Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Sir David Kirch (1936-2026), The Octagon, Le Mont De Gouray, St. Martin, Jersey. This rare life size lead figure is modelled after the marble statue found at Nettuno near Anzio in 1611. The original statue, dating from around 100 B.C, is inscribed on a supporting tree trunk behind the right leg; 'ΑΓΑΣΙΑΣ ΔΩΣΙ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΦΕΣΙΟΣ ΕΠΟΙΕΙ [Agasias son of the Dositheus, Ephesus]. It entered the Borghese collection by 1613 and its impact and fame were almost immediate. In around 1618-1625 Gian Lorenzo Bernini had begun work on a series of work at the bequest of his patron Cardinal Scipione Borghese. In 1623, when he was just 24 years old, he halted work on his model of a large group composition of Apollo and Daphne to start production on his figure of David. In this work he portrayed David getting ready for battle rather than the moment of triumph that follows after Goliath's defeat. In the hero's pose, left arm braced upwards and his right foot planted firmly taking the body's weight, Bernini was perhaps drawing inspiration from directly Borghese's elegant, dynamic gladiator. Napoleon Bonaparte purchased the marble figure together with a substantial part of the Borghese collection in 1807, and from Napoleon's collection it entered the Louvre where it remains today (inv. no. MR 224). Condition Report Disclaimer, AFTER THE ANTIQUE, A RARE LIFESIZE LEAD FIGURE OF THE BORGHESE GLADIATOR, AFTER THE ANTIQUE, A RARE LIFESIZE LEAD FIGURE OF THE BORGHESE GLADIATOR ENGLISH, 19TH CENTURY Lead on octagonal stone base 156cm high, base 100 by 60cm Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Sir David Kirch (1936-2026), The Octagon, Le Mont De Gouray, St. Martin, Jersey. This rare life size lead figure is modelled after the marble statue found at Nettuno near Anzio in 1611. The original statue, dating from around 100 B.C, is inscribed on a supporting tree trunk behind the right leg; 'ΑΓΑΣΙΑΣ ΔΩΣΙ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΦΕΣΙΟΣ ΕΠΟΙΕΙ [Agasias son of the Dositheus, Ephesus]. It entered the Borghese collection by 1613 and its impact and fame were almost immediate. In around 1618-1625 Gian Lorenzo Bernini had begun work on a series of work at the bequest of his patron Cardinal Scipione Borghese. In 1623, when he was just 24 years old, he halted work on his model of a large group composition of Apollo and Daphne to start production on his figure of David. In this work he portrayed David getting ready for battle rather than the moment of triumph that follows after Goliath's defeat. In the hero's pose, left arm braced upwards and his right foot planted firmly taking the body's weight, Bernini was perhaps drawing inspiration from directly Borghese's elegant, dynamic gladiator. Napoleon Bonaparte purchased the marble figure together with a substantial part of the Borghese collection in 1807, and from Napoleon's collection it entered the Louvre where it remains today (inv. no. MR 224). Provenance, Condition Report Disclaimer

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