THE KNIFE-GRINDER

Fine resin reproduction of The Knife-Grinder, a fine example of ancient Roman art. A handcrafted artefact made in Tuscany, it is a lost wax bronze casting on a ‘Nero Marquinia’ marble base. The original work is housed in the Le Gallerie degli Uffizi.

A work of Roman art dating from the 2nd century AD, it has been on display in the Uffizi Gallery since 1677, the year it was donated to Cardinal Ferdinando de’ Medici. The subject of the work has had many interpretations over the centuries: initially considered a Scythian, later a court barber plotting against his sovereign. The most widely accepted theory from the 16th century onwards is that it is a character from a sculptural group dedicated to the punishment of Marsyas, a minor river god who compared himself to Apollo in his ability to play the flute. The knife-grinder would therefore be a man intent on sharpening the blade with which Marsyas was to be flayed.