Monumental bust of a warrior

myminifactory

The stunning Neoclassical marble bust exudes power and majesty, its massive scale derived from the head of Menelaus in the Pasquino group, an ancient masterpiece renowned for its two principal versions: one proudly displayed in the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence since 1501, and another discovered in Rome in 1570 within the Mausoleum of Augustus. This celebrated sculpture depicts the pivotal moment from Homer's Iliad where Menelaus holds aloft the lifeless body of Patroclus on the battlefield. The laurels encircling the helmet evoke late Baroque grandeur, as seen in masterpieces by Giuseppe Rusconi (Fortitude with Two Morning Putti, 1734-1736) and Pierre-Étienne Monnot (Fortitude). The subject places the present sculpture firmly in Florence or Rome, while its exceptional craftsmanship - high-quality polished surfaces - lends credence to a Roman attribution sometime between the late 18th century and early 19th century. Notably, Gavin Hamilton unearthed a Bust of Menelaus at Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli in 1771, which found a new home in the Vatican. A drawing of this bust remains in the British Museum, attributed to Vincenzo Pacetti (inv. no. 2010,5006.1707), a distinguished Neoclassical sculptor and restorer of antiquities during the final decades of the 18th century. Pacetti drew inspiration from this model for his terracotta Achilles and Penthesilea (1773, Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, Rome; Peters Bowron and Rishel, op. cit., pp. 273-275), underscoring its widespread influence at the time. This exquisite Grand Tour bust is likely to have been crafted by a sculptor of comparable standing within Pacetti's illustrious Neoclassical circle.