STATUE OF ANTINOUS was purchased in 1917 at Christie's from the collection originally formed by Thomas Hope (1736 - 1831.) It was commissioned by the Emperor Hadrian, who promoted the revival of Classicism for nostalgic and utopian reasons.Classicism meant direct observation prevailed over conceptual representation.Hadrian did however have a personal interest in the subject. Antinous, Hadrian's lover , a youth of renowned beauty was deified after drowning himself in the Nile in 130 A.D.The statue is based on a Greek prototype of the 5th century B.C and was restored in the 18th century by the Roman sculptor Pierantoni who added the cup and the jug. By interpreting Antinous allegorically as Ganymede making an offering to the gods, he changed the genre of the piece.