The 7ft (2.15m) tall plaster of paris copy of the Vénus de Milo, bought by Louvre at Artcurial for a hammer price of €44,000 (£38,000).
The cast was owned by diplomat Viscount Lodoïs de Marcellus (1795-1861).
Marcellus negotiated the acquisition of the original Vénus de Milo by France from Greece’s Ottoman rulers and it was installed in the Louvre in 1821. The famous armless Greek statue, dating to 130-100BC, is one of the museum’s most popular exhibits.
Twenty years after its acquisition, King Louis-Philippe ordered a plaster copy to be made and presented to Marcellus.
The 7ft (2.15m) tall plaster of paris copy of the Vénus de Milo, bought by Louvre at Artcurial for a hammer price of €44,000 (£38,000).
The cast is being sold by the descendants of Marcellus, alongside the contents of the library in the family’s chateau near Bordeaux. Estimated at €40,000-60,000, it was hammered down at of €44,000 (£38,000) or €57,728 including premium at Artcurial’s Souvenirs Historiques sale on January 24.
