C19th Italian Carved Alabaster 'Grand Tour' Souvenir Sculpture ,After the Antique, of "Spinario" or "The Thorn Puller".

C19th Italian carved alabaster 'Grand Tour' souvenir sculpture ,after the antique, of "Spinario" or "The Thorn Puller".

Originally recorded as seated outside the Lateran Palace , Rome, in 1165, the celebrated Roman marble sculpture from the Medici collections ,is now exhibited in a corridor at the Uffizi Gallery, Florence , Italy.

The Greco-Romano Hellenistic bronze version is now housed in the Capitoline Museum, Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome , where it was placed in the 1400's.

Known to have been studied by , and to have influenced some of the greatest Renaissance sculptors such as Michelangelo . Copies of the statue were gifted to ,and commissioned by ,the Kings and aristocrats of Europe throughout the C16th . Examples can be found amongst the collections of the great aristocratic and Royal houses and museums of the world .

"Lo Spinario" or "Il Fidele" (The Faithful) was thought by some scholars, to depict a faithful lowly shepherd boy who having delivered a message to the Roman Senate ,his errand run , has stopped to remove the thorn from his foot. However, later thinking is that the sculpture's origins pre-date this theory .

Well carved and good scale version of the iconic image of the boy shown in intense concentrated focus attempting to remove a thorn from the sole of his foot. The base of the sculpture having been worked as rock ,upon which he is seated.

Excellent original condition with no breaks ,chips, repairs or damage.

H 12"

W 6"

D 6"

Italy c.1890

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