Attributed to Giuseppe Valadier (1762–1839) and Carlo Albacini (active 1780–1807)
Reduction of the Temple of Isis in Pompeii, ca. 1800
Alabaster, Corsican jasper, rosso antico, lumachella, porphyry, and gilt bronze
14 1/8 × 27 × 29 in. (36 × 68.5 × 73.5 cm)
Museo di Capodimonte, Naples
© Archivio dell'Arte / Luciano e Marco Pedicini
This is a splendid reduction of the Temple of Isis, one of the most admired monuments discovered in Pompeii. Made out of alabaster and various colored marbles, it was probably designed by Valadier’s son, Giuseppe, and by Carlo Albacini. This object may have been part of a large deser, possibly one decorated with reductions of ruins of Pompeii, a preparatory drawing for which survives in Naples.