Pair of lions; Grand tour; Italy, 18th century. Gilt... Lot 25

Pair of lions; Grand tour; Italy, 18th century. Gilt bronze and green porphyry. Provenance: private collection conceived since the 1970s between London and Madrid. Measurements: 12 x 16 x 16 cm. Pair of lions made in gilded bronze and supported on a green porphyry base. The pieces stand out for their synthetic and stylised finish. Both have the same design, lying down with their front paws facing forward and their jaws slightly open. This iconography comes from the Hellenistic period, and became popular in medieval Europe, conceived as a representation of the power of death, and influenced by the funerary role of the lion figure in the Christian religion. It is a metaphor in which lions represent danger, but also power and protection. This pair was born in the context of the "Grand Tour", a term that appeared for the first time in Richard Lassels' "Le Voyage d'Italie" and was used to define the long journey through Europe, especially Italy, that young British aristocrats usually made from the 17th century onwards, but especially throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The purpose of the journey was for young people to become acquainted with the art and culture of mainly France and Italy, to admire classical art at first hand, to learn or improve their knowledge of languages, and to establish contacts and relationships with the cultural and political elites of these countries. Travellers were often looking for pieces with which to start their own art collections, objects to take back to their places of residence as souvenirs. For this reason, workshops specialising in the replication of Roman pieces, both in bronze and marble, sprang up, some of which acquired a great reputation.