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| Bust of a Roman Emperor Italy ca. 1700-1725 selenite Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Bust of a Roman Emperor Italy ca. 1700-1725 selenite Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Bust of a Roman Emperor Italy ca. 1700-1725 selenite Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Bust of a Roman Emperor Italy ca. 1700-1725 selenite Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
The stone carvings gathered here from Hermitage collections were neither created nor originally purchased with the status of "fine art" objects. Manufactured in 18th-century Italy and shipped in bulk to Russia, these sculptural works were intended from the outset either as garden ornaments or as repetitive elements in some quasi-rustic scheme of interior decoration. Derivative pastiches like these were intended to cue the viewer with a warning not to apply standards that pertained to actual ancient art. Instead, these pieces were meant to stand as tributes to or reminders of the genuine article.
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| Relief-Medallion of Bacchante Italy ca. 1700-1725 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Relief-Medallion of Roman Emperor Italy ca. 1700-1725 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Relief-Medallion of Roman woman Italy ca. 1700-1725 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Relief-Medallion of Roman Emperor Italy ca. 1700-1725 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Relief-Medallion of Roman woman Italy ca. 1700-1725 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Relief-Medallion of Roman Emperor Italy ca. 1700-1725 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Relief-Medallion of Roman Emperor Italy ca. 1700-1725 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Relief-Medallion of Roman woman Italy ca. 1700-1725 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Relief-Medallion of Roman Man Italy ca. 1700-1725 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |
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| Bust of Minerva Italy ca. 1775-1800 marble Hermitage, Saint Petersburg |