A set of four Continental sculpted limestone models of maidens representing the Four Seasons, 20th century, each figure carved from a single block, portrayed as seated on an integrally carved tapering plinth, 20th century, height overall, 250cm, the plinths 30cm wide The Four Seasons are an ancient decorative motif, where each season was represented as an allegorical figure bearing traditional iconographic symbols. The Romans typically represented the seasons as voluptuous goddesses known as the Horae as in this case. This imagery carried over into neoclassical art and later became especially popular as garden sculptural ornament. Putti became more common allegorical figures during the Renaissance and later, probably being preferred to the Horae because of their being more innocuous than the provocative goddesses of antiquity