{"id":40407,"date":"2024-05-24T15:18:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T19:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/?post_type=product&p=40407"},"modified":"2025-10-14T16:26:03","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T20:26:03","slug":"decorative-arts-grand-tour-obelisk-pair-neoclassical-marble-antique","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/product\/decorative-arts-grand-tour-obelisk-pair-neoclassical-marble-antique\/","title":{"rendered":"Decorative Arts, Grand Tour, Obelisk Pair, Neoclassical, Marble, Antique"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Serpent Obelisk Pair<\/strong>
\nItaly: c. 1900
\nMarble with bronze mounts
\n13 inches high x 3 inches wide
\n$1,500<\/p>\n

Pair of classical <\/span>miniature <\/span>obelisks, <\/span>each<\/span> of typical form<\/span> tapering with pointed top,<\/span> supported by four gilt<\/span> metal<\/span> heads of mythological serpents or birds<\/span> on <\/span>a <\/span>rectangular <\/span>platform<\/span>, resting on<\/span> a rectangular<\/span> molded<\/span> base. <\/span>Overall each obelisk is<\/span> in four joined sections<\/span> of<\/span> alternating yellow<\/span> and <\/span>rose-colored<\/span> variegated hardstone, <\/span>probably marble<\/span>. They make excellent Grand Tour <\/span>decoration suitable for table or shelf display. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Support for the theory that the four heads supporting the obelisk are serpents, rather than birds, relates to the ancient Serpent Column of Istanbul. As quoted from the University of Chicago\u2019s Essays on the History and Culture of Rome, \u201cserpents … were considered a talisman against snakes, the apotropaic power of the image being thought to turn the fearsome quality of the creature back upon itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Condition: Generally very good with the usual overall light wear and handling.<\/p>\n

References:<\/p>\n

Grout, James. “The Serpentine Column.” Encyclopaedia Romana, University of Chicago<\/em>. penelope.uchicago.edu\/~grout\/encyclopaedia_romana\/
\ncircusmaximus\/serpentine.html (24 May 2024).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44991,"template":"","meta":{"wds_primary_product_brand":0,"wds_primary_product_cat":0,"footnotes":""},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[6795,5972,1127,6934],"product_tag":[521,996,1965,1443,885,1348,9508,7433,7039,1362,1898,1867,1040,9507,4772],"class_list":{"0":"post-40407","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-architectural-artifacts-models-elements","7":"product_cat-desk-shelf-objects","8":"product_cat-figurines-sculptures","9":"product_cat-home-garden-dining-kitchen","10":"product_tag-antique","11":"product_tag-bronze","12":"product_tag-classical","13":"product_tag-decor","14":"product_tag-decorative-arts","15":"product_tag-figurine","16":"product_tag-gilt-metal","17":"product_tag-grand-tour","18":"product_tag-marble","19":"product_tag-mythological","20":"product_tag-neoclassical","21":"product_tag-obelisk","22":"product_tag-sculpture","23":"product_tag-serpent","24":"product_tag-snake","25":"post","26":"post-with-thumbnail","27":"post-with-thumbnail-large","29":"first","30":"instock","31":"shipping-taxable","32":"purchasable","33":"product-type-simple"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/40407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/40407\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44994,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/40407\/revisions\/44994"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=40407"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=40407"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.georgeglazer.com\/wpmain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=40407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}