Cesare Lapini (Italian, 1848- after 1893), a fine sculpted white marble bust of a maiden, possibly representing Night, dated 1891, portrayed gazing slightly downwards, with stars in her tied hair, with flowers and a crescent to her draped decolletage, the reverse inscribed C. LAPINI, Firenze 1891, 69cm high, 39cm wide Published: Illustrated in Country Life, 28 March 1996 Provenance: Formerly a Victorian manor house in the Devon/Somerset borders, until at least 1996 Until latterly the Ducommun dit Verron Collection Lapini was mostly active in Florence, and was known for his allegorical and mythological sculptures, as well as his carvings after the Antique. He is recorded as a participant in several Italian exhibitions including the General Italian Exposition of Turin in 1884, and in Rome in 1888. A similar bust by the Florentine sculptor, representing Cleopatra, was sold at Sotheby's London, 19th and 20th century sculpture, 10 July 2019, lot 45 (£16,250).