Boy with Astragals

myminifactory

The statue is first mentioned in 1724 as part of French Cardinal Melchior de Polignac's extensive collection. During his tenure as Louis XV's ambassador to Rome from 1724 to 1731, the cardinal amassed a vast collection of antiquities through excavations and purchases at the Roman market. It is highly probable that the statue was unearthed in Rome or its surroundings and subsequently restored by a skilled Roman sculptor. Polignac transferred his impressive collection to Paris in 1734, where it was displayed in his residence until 1738, when a comprehensive inventory listed the statue as "enfant, tenant des osselets". After Polignac's passing, Frederick II of Prussia acquired the entire collection of sculptures. The boy with astragals remained on display at Charlottenburg Castle until 1830, when it was relocated to the newly established Royal Museum in Berlin, which is now known as the Altes Museum. At that time, a porcelain label was attached to the plinth, bearing the number 120, corresponding to the numbering system of the first catalogue published by the Berlin Museum in 1832. In 1922, the Berlin Museums sold the sculpture on the art market, where it was bequeathed to the Szépművészeti Múzeum by Béla Fogarasi.