A small, solid bronze vase with an antique green patina, featuring a high-relief portrait of the Florentine poet Dante Alighieri , flanked by two horned demonic heads with grimacing grins . Resting on a tripod base with claw feet and scrolls, this object clearly evokes an allegory of Hell as described in The Divine Comedy . The infernal-inspired mascarons suggest a symbolic interpretation of Dante's work, a theme very popular in late 19th-century decorative art. It could be a small cabinet vase or an ornament intended for a scholar's library.
✦ Origin: Probably Italy ✦ Estimated period: Late 19th – early 20th century ✦ Dimensions: 10 × 7 cm ✦ Material: Solid bronze ✦ Condition: Good overall condition; old green patina, details intact
A scholarly decorative object, somewhere between literary homage and infernal imagery – ideal for a neo-romantic art collection or a humanist's library.
