Exceptional Mid/Late 1800s French Bronze Bust of Ajax or Menelaus Trojan Hero

Presented is a wonderful quality antique bronze bust of Ajax or Menelaus. This piece dates to the second half of the 1800s and is likely of French make. This bust is after the famous “Pasquino Group,” a group of partial Roman marble statues that are themselves emulating an earlier Hellenic bronze. This bearded and helmeted soldier has been variously attributed as either Ajax or Menelaus, depicted in the full size marble carrying the body of Achilles or Patroclus, and has been reproduced in bust form by renowned sculptors like Bernini and Benedetto Boschetti as well as many others. This particular iteration of the subject is exceptionally well cast and detailed, with a great degree of attention to the expressiveness of the face and the texture of the hair. The centaurs and beasts and nude figures on his helmet are likewise very detailed and distinct. The bronze is unsigned, which is not unusual for works after famous antiquities subjects like the Pasquino Group. Though this is an oft-co