Inkwell with Diana bathing Fire-gilt bronze, lapis lazuli, rhodochrosite. The slightly raised, fully sculpted figure of a crouching woman with a bow on an oblong base with protruding angled corners. Two inkwells and two grit boxes inserted in the four corners. Recessed handles in the red stone of the base. Chips to the edge of the base, gilding rubbed in places. H 26.5, W 26.5, D 17.4 cm. Russia, 1833, probably using an earlier bronze figure from Italy. The finely chiseled bronze goes back to a Hellenistic sculpture traditionally referred to as "Bathing Aphrodite". The woman is depicted in a pose that was typical of bathing Greek women, who squatted in small pools and cleaned themselves with the help of maids who doused them with water. This type of statue was extremely popular in Roman times, when the figure was also placed in the baths of wealthy private individuals. Roman examples of the "Crouching Aphrodite" can be found in numerous museums and private collections, including the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, the Louvre Paris, the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. 09.221.1), the Museo del Prado and the Fondazione Torlonia (inv. MT 170). The motif was disseminated as early as the 16th century through prints, both by Marcantonio Raimondi and in Germany by Albrecht Altdorfer. Famous sculptors such as Giambologna also copied the figure. Here, the well-known model has become a Diana in the bath, which can be identified by her arch. This may have been at the request of the client. The depicted drawing of the base is not identified and does not exist in the original, but only as a copy. Provenance Lord Ian Hedworth John Little Gilmour, Baron of Craigmillar (1926 - 2007). By inheritance to Christopher and Mardi Gilmour, Winslow Hall, Buckinghamshire, England UK. Italian collection.