Two Grand Tour Miniature Library Busts of Socrates and Apollo Belvedere

Two Grand Tour Miniature Library Busts of Socrates and Apollo Belvedere
In carved ivory on turned black marble columns
Circa 1820 – 30
Size : 15 cm high and 16 cm high – 6 ins high and 6¼ ins high
Socrates ( 470 BC – 399 BC ) was far from handsome unlike the perfect beauty portrayed by the God Apollo, but he possessed great irony and humour. He had a powerful personal charisma and by the 1st century AD had become a cultural hero in the intellectual circles of the Roman Empire. The founder of moral philosophy, he established the method of trying to get at truth by persistent questioning.
Apollo is for many ‘the most Greek of Greek Gods’ ( W.F.Otto ). He is always depicted as young, beardless and of harmonious beauty, the ideal young athlete. He is associated with music and poetry, and his instrument is the lyre.

Two Grand Tour Miniature Library Busts of Socrates and Apollo Belvedere

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+44 (0)7768 236921
+44 (0)7836 684133

enquiries@finch-and-co.co.uk