Lot 192: Antonio Rossetti (Italian, 1819-1870): A carved white marble figure of Cupid holding a torch

Antonio Rossetti (Italian, 1819-1870): A carved white marble figure of Cupid holding a torch
the young putto clad in flying drapery holding his torch in his right hand and standing by a rustic tree trunk, on naturalistic circular base, signed and dated to the side A. ROSSETTI, ROMA 1867, raised on a contemporary sectional column plinth with moulded top and socle on shallow square plinth base, now lacking the flame to torch, the figure, 113cm high, the pedestal, 99cm high, 212cm high approximately overall (2)

Footnotes

• Born in Milan, Antonio Rossetti studied and worked in Rome establishing an international reputation for his figurative work specialising in mythological and genre subjects executed in white marble and alabaster.
  
  Rossetti's figure of 'The Nubian Slave' dating from circa 1850, originally in the Kibble Palace in Glasgow's Botanic Gardens and later bequeathed to Glasgow museum and art gallery in 1881 features a similar shaped column pedestal to the current lot although the pedestal for the Nubian figure is further carved with four panel reliefs depicting scenes of slavery.
  
  He executed a number of other works now in public collections in Britain including 'The Reading Girl' circa 1883, in Lichfield Public Library which is derived from an earlier figure 'Time is Precious', circa 1873 in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool and other figural subjects include 'Venus seated on a fountain' which is illustrated in A. Panzetta's, Dizionario degli scultori italiani dell'ottocento e del primo novocento, Torino, 1994, vol. ii, p. 168-169, no. 704 and 'Amor Secreto'.
  
  Rosetti's address in Rome was listed as 54 Via Margutta in 1874.
  
  Exhibitions:
  Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Exhibition, 1864 - 'A veiled Cupid', marble statue with pedestal, p. 102 (cat. no. 27, offered for sale £190).
  Liverpool Autumn Exhibition of Modern Pictures (Liverpool) 1877 - 'Time is Precious', marble statue (cat. no. 1316, not for sale).
  Dublin International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures 1865 - Official cat. entry (p. 102).