Pan & Daphnis. 18th Century Italian School

This bronze sculpture with a brown patina represents Pan and Daphnis, sometimes called Pan and Apollo. Italy, 18th century. Presented on a beautiful blackened wood and ebony base, decorated with marble plaques. Total height with base: 50 cm. Bronze: 34 cm. Daphnis is the son of Hermes and a nymph, leading a bucolic life as a shepherd in Sicily and who ended his life by being deified. The myth tells that he learned to play the flute thanks to the teachings of the god Pan and that he was certainly his eromenos; this is what this sculpted group represents, the learning of a wind instrument by Pan, with a certain game of seduction of a homosexual nature. The face of the chimerical creature seems indeed to underline a certain sexual tension through an insistent and mocking smile, coupled with the positioning of his left hand firmly pressed on the shoulder of the young Daphnis and his left satyr's hoof which seems to seek physical contact, in short to "kick" the young shepherd. The enthusiasm and excitement granted to the character of the satyr contrast in every way with the gentleness and calm of the young Daphnis. But Pan, leans towards his neighbor with the aim of teaching him to play the flute. The group which served as a prototype dates from the end of the 2nd century BC, we know different versions from the Roman period, the most famous is in the Farnese collection and currently preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Naples. Another, Medici collection, Florence, Uffizi Museum. Beautiful state of conservation. Sold with invoice & certificate