Bronze of The Crouching Venus
A fine bronze of the Crouching Venus shown on a naturalistic base on one knee, her arms held across her body, her hair dressed in antique style, raised on a Griotte marble plinth with bronze mouldings
Provenance: sold from the collection of Sir Arthur Pilkington (1898-1952), Chevet Hall, Yorkshire in 1947
The original Chevet Hall, near Wakefield in Yorkshire, was built by the prestigious Nevile family in 1529. In 1765 the Estate was bought by Sir Lionel Pilkington, 5th Bt., (1707-1778), who extensively re-modelled the house in neo-classical style, and acquired over the years a collection suited to the house. It survived in the Pilkington family till just after the Second World War, but was demolished, like so many other fine country houses, in the 1950s. It is not recorded which member of the Pilkington family acquired the offered bronze, but it was most likely the 5th, 6th, 7th or 8th baronet
A 17th century bronze of the same model is in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts