Images(5)

The Nile

Maker Unknown, French, 18th Century , after the antique

Modelmodel attributed to Martin Carlier (French, died after 1700)

Possiblypossibly by Jasquet Buviette (French)

ClassificationsSCULPTURE

Date1690-1730

Mediumleaded bronze

Dimensions14 x 30 x 12 3/4 in. (35.6 x 76.2 x 32.4 cm.)

DescriptionThis small bronze sculpture portraying a personification of the Nile, the longest river in Africa, is an 18th-century reduced version of a colossal ancient statue in the collections of the Vatican.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Label TextThis bronze of a muscular nude male reclining on a sphinx and cradling a cornucopia is an allegory, or figurative representation, of the Nile River. It is a much-reduced version of a colossal ancient marble that was discovered in Rome in 1513. Exhibited in the papal collection until the end of the 18th century, the sculpture has been reproduced in a variety of media and sizes throughout the centuries.

Status

On view

Object number11.1