Pair of Grand Tour Faux Malachite Hand Painted & Gilded Obelisks of Minerva

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Pair of Vintage Grand tour Style Faux malachite and gilt brass obelisks of the Minerva (Minerveo).
Italian, alabaster, wood and … Read more Pair of Vintage Grand tour Style Faux malachite and gilt brass obelisks of the Minerva (Minerveo).
Italian, alabaster, wood and brass obelisks with hand painted finish, each measures 20 in tall, the square base has about 4 1/4 in on each site.
The pair is strong, and is in fine condition.
The bottom pedestal made of wood, the top obelisk is made of marble dust and alabaster, the elephants are made of brass and gilded. The pair is free hand painted and gilded with glossy finish.
NOTE: The obelisks have a faux malachite finish, each one is individually free handpainted, oil on wood and oil on alabaster, it is not a print, or a sticker.

Some useful web information about the original artifact monument:
L’Obelisco della Minerva: la storia curiosa di un elefante di pietra al centro dell’incantevole piazza della Minerva.

In the centre of the enchanting Piazza della Minerva stands this small red granite obelisk dating back to the 6th century BC, originally located near the Iseo Campense, the shrine devoted to Isis and her spouse Serapis in the Campus Martius.

After falling down, the obelisk remained hidden in the ground until 1665, when it was accidentally found by some Dominican friars during work on the foundations of the wall enclosing the garden of the basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva.

The obelisk is only about 5.5 metres high, but reaches 12 metres with the cross and the famous elephant-shaped base designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and executed in 1667 by his apprentice Ercole Ferrata.

The Minerva Obelisk: the curious story of a stone elephant
"And it cries out, with its trunk turned backwards, Dominican friars, here you stand!".

Through Rome's most famous little elephant, Bernini manifests all his frustration in the curious story that accompanied the construction of one of the most beloved monumental complexes for Romans and tourists alike.

Pope Alexander VII Chigi decided to place it in front of the church of the Dominican fathers and for this he evaluated several proposals that would allow him to choose the most suitable base to support it.

One of the projects presented was that of the Dominican friar Domenico Paglia: the monument was to rest on six small hills - recalling the coat of arms of the Chigi family, but it might have appeared too self-celebratory.

The Pontiff wanted a work that would rather recall the exaltation of Divine Wisdom: 'Alexander VII dedicated this ancient obelisk, a monument to the Egyptian Athena, unearthed and placed in the square, once of Minerva now of the Mother of God, in the year of Salvation, 1667.' He therefore chose the design of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the greatest architect and sculptor of Baroque Rome, who proposed the construction of a statue in the shape of an elephant. The animal was supposed to symbolise strength, also evoked by the inscription on the plinth, which reads: 'Anyone who observes the sculpted images of Egyptian wisdom on the obelisk carried by the elephant, the strongest of beasts, realises that it takes a strong mind to carry a solid wisdom.' See less