Grand Tour Alabaster Model of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, Rome, circa 1870

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Grand Tour Alabaster Model of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, Rome, circa 1870

About the Item

While we are familiar with similarly sized, carefully-carved, circa 1870 replicas of this monument in antique yellow marble (giallo antico,) the present souvenir is more unusual. Realized in a veined, yellow, Italian alabaster, this 27-3/4” high model shares with earlier marble examples a high level of carved detail and finish. Indeed, it is almost certain that the scarpellino – stonecarver – who has fashioned this model had worked on earlier replicas. Italian souvenir architectural models, across the 19th century, may be very approximately dated according to their materials. Rosso antico (red) marble replicas appeared from the 1810s–1840s; giallo antico (yellow) marble mementos are most plentiful from the 1850s, circa 1870; nero antico (black) marble pieces seem to occupy the 1860s-1880s; colored Italian, (generally from Volterra), alabaster models date to circa 1870 while white Italian alabaster architectural miniatures predominate in the period from 1870s–1910s. Again, these are rules of thumb, the rules rather than their numerous, varied exceptions. For example, as early as the 1860s there was a substantial trade in Volterran alabaster (both polychromatic and white) souvenirs. “…a large quantity (of Volterran alabaster) is worked up into reduced models of the more famous statues and architectural monuments, the whole of which are exported to foreign countries, “ reads the Official Description Catalogue of the Kingdom of Italy (1862). Of course, the reasons for changes in stones, from which architectural souvenirs were carved, have to do with scarcity and price. We’ve mentioned scarpellini, the Roman stonecutters responsible for the great majority of souvenir architectural models in the 19th century. This trade originated at the outset of the 17th century, relying for its materials on the abundance of colorful, rare, antique, imported marbles with which the ground of post-sack Rome was reportedly covered. 200 years later this abundance was much reduced, thus successive turns first to red, then yellow, then black marbles, until these too were exhausted; and finally to Italian alabasters. Today, in Rome, miniatures of the Colosseum are made of colored resin. Measures: 28".

Dimensions:
Height: 28 in (71.12 cm)Width: 13.5 in (34.29 cm)Depth: 5.25 in (13.34 cm)
Style:
Grand Tour (Of the Period)
Materials and Techniques:
Alabaster,Marble,Carved
Place of Origin:
Italy
Period:
1870-1879
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1870
Condition:
Wear consistent with age and use. Restored glue and base.
Seller Location:
Lafayette, CA
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU114324973883