catalog text
GRAND TOUR
Italian, 19th century
The Flight of Aeneas From Burning Troy Carrying His Father Anchises
Carved marble | Unsigned | circa 1880
Item # 410LIK20S
A dramatic moment from Virgil's epic poem, The Aeneid, the hero Aeneas returns from the thick of battle and gathers up his elderly father Anchises on his shoulders, taking his young son Julus by the hand and leading them from the burning city of Troy. Alluded in the poem but unseen is the wife of Aeneas, following closely behind as they flee the peril. It is a famous image drawn so beautifully in words that has become the subject for much sculpture, paintings and printed works over the millenea. It is often interpreted as the three ages of humanity: the present moment is embodied in Aeneas, the hero and agent of change; the past in Anchises, holding onto the gods of his family and his fathers before him; and the hopes and dreams of the future in Julus, or better known as Ascanius.
Few things move your heart or your imagination more than Virgil's words, as translated in poet David Ferry's 2017 interpretation of The Aenid:
As he spoke we could hear, ever more loudly, the noise
Of the burning fires; the flood of flames was coming
Nearer and nearer. "My father, let me take you
Upon my shoulders and carry you with me.
The burden will be easy. Whatever happens,
You and I will experience it together,
Peril or safety, whichever it will be.
Little Iülus will come along beside me.
My wife will follow behind us. And you, my servants,
Listen to what I say: just as you leave
The limits of the city there is a mound,
And the vestiges of a deserted temple of Ceres,
And a cypress tree that has been preserved alive
For many years by the piety of our fathers.
We will all meet there, though perhaps by different ways
And, Father, you must carry in your arms
The holy images of our household gods;
I, coming so late from the fighting and the carnage
Cannot presume to touch them until I have washed
Myself in running water." Thus I spoke.
I take up the tawny pelt of a lion and
Cover my neck and broad shoulders with it,
And bowing down, I accept the weight of my father;
Iülus puts his hand in mine and goes
Along beside me, trying to match my steps
As best he can, trying his best to keep up.
My wife follows behind us, a little way back.
So we all set out together, making our way
Among the shadows, and I, who only just
A little while ago had faced, undaunted,
Showers of arrows and swarms of enemy Greeks,
Am frightened by every slightest change in the air
And startled by every slightest sound I hear,
Fearful for whom I walk with and whom I carry.
Measurements: 22" H x 16" W x 10" D
Condition Report:
Wear, small chips and scuffing to the stone throughout. There are numerous losses that we surmise may be intentional representations of time and antiquity by the carver executing the sculpture, as we have seen one other example with very similar losses. These losses include the head of the idol, the fingers of Julus, the helmet plum and part of the sword pommel on Aeneas, the both corners of the base and half of the front foot of both Julus and Aeneas. There is a repaired break to the stone in the right front corner of the base and a chip repair to the back left corner. A very fine presentation, ready to place.