This captivating faun was standing in
the center of a pool before one of Pompeii's most sumptuous houses
when the ash and lapilli of the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius
completely covered the doomed city. (See actual photo above)
For 1800 years darkness enfolded him but the enchanting fellow
was not destined to remain forever in the shadows. Nineteenth
century excavations brought him again to the light and, eternal
in his lust for life, once more he dances in the sun. His laughter,
his dancing, his agile vibrating figure were hedonistic symbols
of the full life sought by the wealthy Romans although he was
probably brought to Italy from Greece where he had been a product
of the rococo tendencies of the late Hellenistic age. By this
time fauns, once portrayed with the legs and hooves of a goat,
had assumed a human body with only a short tail and abbreviated
horns to identify them with the mythological creatures.
Eleganza's exclusive limited edition reproduction, duplicates
the original in every respect including its size. |
