BOY ON A SEAHORSE

A fine 19th Century Italian marble sculpture

Although apparently unsigned this is a very accomplished piece of work.
Romantic in style and ruthless in its portrayal of movement the sculptor has
adopted particularly effective and novel surface techniques to depict the
turbulence of the waves upon which the group are supported.

The sculptor certainly drew his inspiration  for this piece from a classical
source. There are many stories concerning fantastic  sea creatures in both
Greek and Roman mythology. For instance: the "hydra" slain by Perseus, the
"ketos" dispatched by Herakles, the "scylla" killed by Odysseus and the
"hippocamp" (a horse/fish hybrid) ridden by Poseidon (Neptune) the god of
the sea. There are plentiful sources of illustration of these mythical
creatures in ancient Greek and Roman visual arts including vase painting,
wall painting, architectural sculpture, friezes and mosiacs. One of the most
famous mosiacs is "The Triumph of Neptune" in the baths of Neptune in Ostia
(Italy) which shows Poaeidon driving before him four splendid hippocamps
surrounded by a retinue of Tritons and young boys with halters in their
hands riding on the backs of dolphins. In similar posture the boy in this
work balances triumphantly on the reluctant seahorse's back and is subduing
him with either a halter or a whip. The writhing seahorse churns the waves
beneath him creating crests of foam which are captured with great delicacy
by the crest.

See http://bathgreen11.freeserve.co.uk/intaglio.htm (but no further details
on this piece)

Height: 35 in (93cm)
Reference: T.H.Carpenter. Art and Myth in Ancient Greece. Thames and Hudson.
1991

price: upon application