After the 1635-1636 model by Alessandro Algardi (1595-1654), entourage of Giulio Cartari (active in Rome 1655-1691), second half of the 17th century Hypnos Figure in white marble H. 77 cm (30 ¼ in.) H. 35 cm (13 ¾ in.) Provenance: Former Swiss collection. Comparative bibliographies : S. Della Staffa (ed.), Poesie dedicate alle glorie del Sig. Alessandro Algardi ottimo degli scultori, Perugia, 1643. J. Montagu, Alessandro Algardi, New Haven and London, 1985, 2 vols. O. Ferrari, S. Papaldo, Le sculture del Seicento a Roma, Rome, 1999. J. Montagu (ed.), L'Altra Faccia del Barocco, exh. cat., Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Rome, 21 January - 30 April 1999. A. Mampieri (ed.), L'Allegoria del Sonno di Alessandro Algardi dalla Galleria Borghese, exh. cat., Museo Civico Medievale, Bologna, 3 March - 10 June 2018. P. Stewart, A Catalogue of the Sculpture Collection at Wilton House, Oxford, 2020. A carved white marble figure of Hypnos, Allegory of Sleep, after the model of 1635-1636 of Alessandro Algardi (1595-1654), circle of Giulio Cartari (active in Rome 1655-1691), second half of the 17th century Hypnos is one of the minor deities of the Greek pantheon. He is the son of Nyx, the personified goddess of Night, and Erebus, also known as the pure darkness of Hades. Together with his twin brother, Thanatos, the god of death, they reside in a dark cave near the banks of Lethe, surrounded by poppies and soporific plants. Hypnos is a gentle, benevolent god, sometimes taking the form of a songbird with a horn from which the sleepy dew falls. Accompanied by his sons and his brother Oniros, he relieves man of his physical and mental pain and enriches his sleep with dreams. The most beloved of the Muses, he and his wife Pasithea had three children, Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos, who appear respectively in human or animal form, or in all the animated objects of our dreams. The iconography of the drowsy putto as a personification of sleep was popular in the seventeenth century, and the version by Alessandro Algardi (1595 - 1654) seems to have quickly achieved considerable renown, as attested by an ode in his honour published by Scipione della Staffa in 16431, as well as early copies. These include an anonymous copy kept at Palazzo Spada, two copies by Jacques van der Bogaert (1671-1737), one kept at the MFA in Boston and the other in Hamburg, and another version - also in black marble - acquired by the 8th Earl of Pembroke and appearing for the first time in the archives of his collection at Wilton House around 1732. The present Hypnos is also closely related to the statue by Algardi in the Galleria Borghese. It carefully reproduces the pose of the latter, as well as iconographic details such as the poppy pods held in the putto's left hand and in the crown that adorns his head. The treatment of the marble surface, characterised by a lustrous finish, and the pulpy modelling of the figure's anatomy are also comparable, suggesting that the author of our allegory had carefully studied Algardi's work and technique. In the present Hypnos, however, the composition is simplified by the absence of the wings of the putto and the dormouse, and by the more geometric treatment of the drapery, elements which - together with the carving of the putto's locks, which are more rounded and partly drawn by lines incised into the marble - indicate a slightly later execution, towards the end of the seventeenth century and the beginning of the eighteenth. Such an accomplished homage, alongside those mentioned above, testifies to the enduring renown of Algardi's composition, drawn from antiquity yet refreshing in its modernity and naturalism. No doubt part of its appeal lay in its theme: the passage of time expressed through an allegory of the transition from day to night, from consciousness to sleep. Finally, it is also possible that sculptors like the author of this marble - aware of Passeri's anecdote that Algardi sculpted the Borghese Hypnos to prove his talent - wanted to make a similar statement about their craft, drawing a direct parallel between themselves and the master. *Information for buyers: Lot from outside the EU: The hammer price is exclusive of VAT. VAT at the reduced rate of 5.5% applies to the hammer price. This VAT is recoverable for French professionals. It is reimbursable for a buyer from outside the EU on presentation of proof of export from the EU or for a professional bidder providing proof of an intra-Community VAT number and a document proving delivery in the Member State. *Information to the buyers : Lot from outside the EU : The hammer price and premium will be VAT excluded. 5.5% VAT will be added to the hammer price and premium. Upon request, this VAT can be refunded to the purchaser on presentation of written proof of exportation outside EU, or to the EU purchaser who will submit his intracommunity VAT number and a proof of shipment to an EU country.