A carved marble figure by Pietro Tenerani (Italian, 1789-1869), 'Psyche in a Faint', 1860, carved marble, signed and dated, 110cm wide 66cm deep 114cm high, together with a stone slab, 123 x 67cm (2) Provenance: Recently recovered from the garden of a country house in East Anglia, having been in the same family ownership for fifty years. This sculpture depicts a scene from Apuleius' Metamorphoses, the moment that Psyche opens Proserpina's beauty ointment, having been sent into the underworld to collect it by the jealous Venus. In spite of being told not to, Psyche's curiosity gets the better of her and she opens the flask, instantly falling into a deep slumber or faint. The flask can be seen at the subject's feet, the cover falling from her hand. Tenerani revisited this subject on at least seven other occasions; he was fascinated with trying to capture the languid fluidity of the fainting body, setting a fleeting moment in stone. Other examples of this work can be found in prominent international collections, perhaps the most famous being the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Condition report: Weathered having been kept outside for the previous 50 years, wings broken and repaired, fingers and toes lost. See additional images.