Pair of monumental marble busts of Bacchantes, early 19th century

Carved in Carrara marble, this pair of monumental busts depicts Bacchantes in the Roman and Florentine Neoclassical taste of 1780–1820. The maenads, holding thyrsi and flowers, are enveloped in softly folded drapery above tapering pedestals adorned with carved drops. Dating from the early 19th century and measuring 193 cm in height, these works come from a villa in Naples. Each rests on a square base from which rises an engaged shaft in the form of an inverted pyramid.