Antonio Frilli Italian, late 19th century After a design by Antonio Canova

the base with three old red labels printed: SOTHEBY'S / NEW YORK and inscribed in ink: 46 / 4 an old white label inscribed in ink: 19C / 20257995 / 2 / (4) [and with the number 5 crossed out in brackets] two old white labels printed: 7539 and inscribed in ink: 46 / 4 and four pieces of tape with partially legible ink inscriptions, one reading: 1 and another reading: 3

Sotheby's New York, 31st October 2000

Overall the condition of the marble is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are a few very small naturally occurring inclusions, including some to the faces and some slightly larger inclusions to the drapery at the back. There are a few larger filled inclusions including to the centre figure's proper left foot and to the tree stump behind her. There are a few chips to the edges of the drapery and to the edges of the white marble base. The ends of four of the toes on the proper left foot of the far right figure are replaced. There are a few larger scratches including to the back of the tree stump, to the far right figure's proper right arm at the back and drapery at the back and to the centre figure's proper left big toe. There are a few minor chips to the edges of the serpentine base.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The present marble replicates the central group from Venus and the Graces Dancing in the Presence of Mars by Antonio Canova. The great neo-classical sculptor produced this composition in tempera on paper and in sculptural relief, long before the idea for his famous sculpture of The Three Graces was presented to him by the Empress Josephine in 1812.

Canova conceived the image between 1794 and 1799 and it is not known whether the painting or the relief was the primary version. Both are in the collections at Possagno and depict the same composition, showing the three daughters of Zeus and Euryonome: Euphrosyne, Aglaia and Thalia, dancing with Venus before Mars. Aglaia plays music on her lyre, to which all four women dance on points. Her two sisters delicately balance a crown of flowers above Venus's head. Whilst Mars is entranced a mischievous putto steals away his sword. As Hugh Honour notes, the adornment of Venus was described in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite and in Ovid's Fasti, but no ancient image of the subject is known. Without antique prototype, Canova here draws upon on his own imaginative vision and his love of the theatre. The composition was designed for his own interest and only a few plaster casts of the relief were produced for particular friends and patrons.

Antonio Frilli was a highly skilled marble sculptor working in Florence in the late 19^th and into the early 20^th century. He was the founder of the Galleria Frilli, which still exists in Florence today. Frilli specialised in decorative busts and figures and replicas after neo-classical sculpture. His extraordinary technical accomplishment is seen in the almost miraculously balanced Nude Reclining in a Hammock, his own conception, known in a number of versions, one of which sold at Sotheby's New York, 3rd November 1999 for $635,000.  Frilli gives the present marble the same remarkable appearance of weightlessness, transferring Canova's lyrical fancy into three dimensions.

Another marble version of The Graces Crowning Venus is in the collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art (inv. no. LH2001.227).

RELATED LITERATURE
H. Honour, "Canova's Three Graces" T. Clifford et al, The Three Graces Antonio Canova, exhib. cat., National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1995, pp. 19-45; A. Panzetta, Nuovo dizionario degli scultori italiani, Turin, 2003, p. 377