A Pair of 19th Century Grand Tour Models

A pair of Grand Tour Models of the Temple of Vespasian and the Temple of Castor and Pollux.
Carved Siena marble, on black marble plinths.
Italian, Rome, Mid 19th Century

Finely carved from Siena marble, this pair of architectural models reproduces two of the most iconic ruins of ancient Rome: the Temple of Vespasian and the Temple of Castor and Pollux.

Both temples survive today as fragments of fluted Corinthian columns and richly carved entablatures, their romantic decay making them favourites with Grand Tourists of the 18th and 19th centuries.

The model of the Temple of Vespasian captures the distinctive stepped entablature of the original, while the Temple of Castor and Pollux features a section of the surviving frieze, inscribed RESTITVTAE, taken directly from the ancient monument in the Roman Forum.

Probably made in the Vatican workshops for the grand tour market.

Provenance: Private Collection, Milan