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| | Under Nicholas I the acquisition of works of ancient art in Italy began again. For that purpose an Archaeological Commission was established in Rome to search for antiquities. It was headed by Prince Grigory Volkonsky. Stepan Gedeonov, who later became director of the Hermitage, was appointed as his deputy. The commission was supposed to carry out excavations and to that end a plot of land was purchased on the Palatine Hill in Rome. In 1851 the plot was ceded to Pope Pius IX in exchange for a number of sculptures from the papal collections. We can see one of these in this room - Cupid Stringing His Bow. That same year Gedeonov purchased valuable ancient works in Venice, including the sculpture of Aphrodite from the collection of senator Nani and Hyacinthus from the Soranzo Palace collection. Back in St Petersburg a remarkable collection of sculpture was acquired from the Demidovs, the family of mining magnates, that included rare sculptural portraits of Emperors Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, as well as the statue of a Satyr Making a Libation. |
