Object Description
A late 19th century fine quality Italian Grand Tour bronze figure of a discus thrower on siena marble base.
This bronze figure depicts a nude Classical male athlete standing ready to throw his discus leading down to an oval base all supported on siena marble plinth with later applied silver plaque, this is hard to decipher but we read it as:
‘PRESENTED TO THE OFFICERS
2ND BT. THE BEDFS. & HERTS REGT.
BY MAJOR OTTAVIO MEDAGLIA
15TH JUNE 1935’
In researching this bronze we cannot find any identical figures portrayed in this pose but this figure was probably based on either the original Greek bronze ‘Discobolus’ figure by Myron or the ‘Discobole’ created in 1822 by the Belgian sculptor Mathieu Kessels which is in the Brussels Museum of Fine Arts.
In the book ‘Bronzes: ‘Sculptors & Founders Volume 2’ by Harold Berman, he says the Discoboli bronze figures differed in many ways and often the foundry artists freely sculpted their own versions basing them on the original by Myron.
This bronze figure is in very good condition for age and can go straight into a home.
Size:
Height: 12.75” / 32.5cm
Width: 4.5” / 115cm
Depth: 7.25” / 18.5cm