After the Antique, A large bronze figure of Discobolus


Early 20th centuryIn characteristic pose, on an oval plinth base, 68cm high
|The present figure of a discus thrower is after the 2nd Century AD marble Roman copy of the lost bronze original Discobolus by Greek sculptor Myron. The former was found in the Tivoli gardens and acquired by the Vatican Museum c.1790. Another copy was discovered at Emperor Hadrian's Villa, purchased at auction by the English art dealer Thomas Jenkins in 1792 before Charles Townley bought it for £400 exhibiting it in his Park Street gallery in 1794. It was subsequently bought by the British Museum in 1805, and remains one of the most iconic pieces in the collection.