Sculpture, Obelisco de distintos mármoles — Procedentes de la Acrópolis — Fechado en 1885 — 16,5 cm - 16.5 cm - Marble

Obelisk of different marbles, a souvenir of Athens dated August 3, 1885, linked by its inscriptions to the Temple of Jupiter in the Acropolis and to the French warship Amiral Duperré.

Made by overlapping pieces of marble of different colors and veining, it combines white, pinkish, green and dark tones on a stepped square base. The inscription “Acropole” and “Temple de Jupiter” - Temple of Zeus Olympius, suggests a link of the marbles with the Athens Acropolis. Its architectural form and the variety of stones evoke travel memories from the Grand Tour tradition: small objects that brought the admiration for monuments and the materials of classical Antiquity into the domestic sphere.

According to the transcription provided, the four faces present the following inscriptions:

«3 août 1885 — Souvenir d’Athènes».

«Temple de Jupiter».

«Escadre d’évolution — Amiral Duperré — 1885».

«Acropole».

References to Athens, the Acropolis and the Temple of Jupiter reinforce its character as a travel souvenir and its connection with the fascination for classical Antiquity that inspired Grand Tour objects and their later continuation in 19th-century cultural souvenirs.

The naval inscription seems to allude to Amiral Duperré, a French battleship documented among the ships of the Escadre d’évolution in 1885. This squadron carried out maneuvers and crew instruction activities.

Dimensions
Height: 16.5 cm.
Base: 5 × 5 cm.

The references to the Acropolis and the Temple of Jupiter permit considering the possibility that some marble fragments came from those places or their surroundings. However, there is no documentation that allows attesting that origin or establishing a high probability, so they are not offered as authenticated archaeological fragments.

A piece that combines the decorative appeal of polychrome marbles with the interest of its inscriptions, bringing together in a single object the memory of Athens, the 19th-century travel culture, and a possible link to French naval history.