19th Century English Plaster Statue of Narcissus.

A elegantly poised 19th century cast plaster statue of the Greco Roman Narcissus A beautiful cast figure with a pelt tied around his shoulder. Greek in mythology, the Greco roman version is wearing roman sandals. Pleasant patina throughout.

The original was a bronze sculpture that was excavated at Vicolo del Balcon Pensile in Pompeii in 1862.

In good order, scuffs and abrasions consistent with age. 2 hairline cracks to fingers.

Height 65cm.

Narcissus, in Greek Mythology, the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. He was distinguished for his beauty. According to Ovid's Metamorphoses , Book III, Narcissus's mother was told by the blind seer Tiresias that he would have a long life, provided he never recognized himself. However, his rejection of the love of the nymph Echo or (in an earlier version) of the young man Ameinias drew upon him the Vengeance of the gods. He fell in love with his own reflection in the waters of a spring and pined away (or killed himself); the flower that bears his name sprang up where he died. The Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias in Description of Greece, Book IX, said it was more likely that Narcissus, to console himself for the death of his beloved twin sister, his exact counterpart, sat gazing into the spring to recall her features.