Pair of carved marble busts on stands by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Fazzi

Pair of carved marble busts on stands by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Fazzi
Italian, 1889
Bust with fruit: Height 74cm, width 45cm, depth 35cm
Bust with birds: Height 69cm, width 45cm, depth 22cm
Pedestals: Height 117cm, width 45cm, depth 45cm

The wonderful marble busts in this pair are by the nineteenth-century, Florence-based sculptor Arnaldo Fazzi. The busts portray two young, classically beautiful women. One bust depicts its sitter with her head turned slightly askance; she wears deftly carved clothing and bears a foliate wreath laden with fruit around her head, and further fruit below her chest. The other bust represents its subject with her head turned ninety degrees; two birds perch on her shoulders, and she kisses the beak of one. Both figures are carved with exceptional fineness, with moments of high relief—such as in the eyes and mouths—contrasted against subtlety in representation of flesh. The busts are raised on marble pedestals, and the figure with fruit is signed, situated, and dated "A. Fazzi / Firenze / 1889" to its reverse.

Artist/maker: Arnaldo Fazzi (Italian, 1855-1944)