C19th Italian 'Grand Tour' Souvenir Carved Serpentine Marble Sculpture of the Venetian Winged Lion of St.mark .

C19th Italian 'Grand Tour' carved serpentine marble sculpture of the winged Lion of St.Mark .

Well-executed carved green serpentine marble or Verde Prato , study of the winged Lion of St.Mark , the symbol of Venice and formerly of the Venetian Republic. Depicted with the front paws of the male lion upon an opened bible on St.Marks Gospel , his tail coiled between his rear legs .

St.Mark represented as a lion , is derived from Marks description of John the Baptist in the Old Testament. Venetian tradition states that when St.Mark was travelling through Europe, he arrived at a lagoon in Venice , whereby an angel appeared to him and told him that this was the place his body would rest. The remains of St. Mark were later stolen from Alexandria and interred in the Basilica of St.Mark in Venice .

The dark green Verde Prato or serpentino (due to it's resemblance to snake-skin) marble , has a distinctive variegated colour and has been quarried for centuries near the town of Figline , a few miles from Prato , northwest of Florence, Italy .

In excellent original condition with good attention to detail in the body , face and feathered wings of the sculpture. Integrally mounted on a rectangular plinth base with a rusticated ground .

H 5"

W 6"

D 3"

Italy , Venice c. 1880

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