North Italian, possibly Mantua, 15th century

by repute, Palazzo Ducale, Mantua;
purchased by Lehmann Bernheimer, 1890s;
inventory of L. Bernheimer, at Palais Bernheimer, Lenbachplatz, Munich 

The columns are currently fixed to the courtyard at Burg Marquartstein and would have to be professionally removed. Given their age and placement outside, the columns are in good condition overall, with dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. The columns are composed of sections, consisting of a capital, a shaft, and a base. The shafts of the two outer columns are covered with a climbing plant, which may conceal condition points on these columns. Parts of their capitals, as well as the whole of the two middle columns, have been stripped of the plants, leaving remnants of them throughout. There is weathering to the surfaces throughout, consistent with the material. Due to this, there are stable, naturally occurring fissures to the limestone, and one of the middle columns has notably open fissures with some loss around these areas. There are several further losses, notably to the band around the bottom of one of the middle columns, to the bottom edges of the shafts above the rims and bases, and to each of the bases. There is a large metal hook to the capital of one of the middle columns, and there are a few holes with lead fill to the shaft of the same column. There are also a few further holes to the shaft of this column, and there is particular black dirt to its base. There are several chips and abrasions to the edges of each column, including the carvings on the capitals. The top of each capital is covered by a metal plate for protection.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A well-preserved set of monumental columns from the Italian Renaissance is a rarity at auction. These four imposing limestone columns, with Corinthian capitals bearing coats of arms, have been in the Bernheimer collection for more than a hundred years and are said to have once supported the structures of the Ducal Palace in Mantua.

Columns with foliate decorations in the all’antica style are a quintessential component of Renaissance architecture. Referring back to the architectural forms of classical antiquity, they replaced more strictly stylised late medieval designs and served to support buildings based on antique modes of architecture. As ruling Italian families sought to establish their power on the model of imperial Rome, the all’antica style came to be favoured throughout Italy during the course of the 15th century.

Since Lehmann Bernheimer’s acquisition of the present columns on his travels to Italy in the late 19th century, their place origin has been considered to be the Palazzo Ducale in Mantua. The Palace was built between the 14th and 17th centuries primarily by the House of Gonzaga, which had succeeded the ruling Bonacolsi family in 1328. During the 15th and 16th centuries the Gonzaga rulers grew ever-more powerful, becoming Marchesi under Gianfrancesco I in 1433 and Dukes under Federico II in 1530. This coincided with the building of numerous extensions and restorations of the palace, such as the addition of the Castle of St George around 1400 and the Domus Nova in the 1480s, which was renovated in the later 16th century. The Palazzo thus consists of several interconnected buildings of various architectural styles. The famous columns of the Corte Vecchia at the front portico of the Palazzo are rather more simplistic and austere in style than the Bernheimer columns, dating to the beginnings of the Palace in the 14th century. However it is not inconceivable that the present columns formed part of a later addition to the buildings which was replaced with new structures before 1707, when the Gonzagas’ rule came to an end. One extension of the Palace, the Palazzina della Paleologa, was demolished as late as 1898.

Close stylistic parallels to the Bernheimer columns can be found at the Palazzo Ducale in Revere, close to Mantua, whose major rebuilding was commissioned by Ludovico III Gonzaga in the late 1440s. Ludovico employed the architect Luca Fancelli from Florence, who was also extensively active in Mantua, to effect a move away from the late Gothic style towards an all’antica character. The columns in the courtyard at Revere compare closely in form to the Bernheimer columns: Attic bases with leaf forms at the corners recall 14th-century Gothic designs, while the capitals display ample and naturalistic acanthus foliage, growing bulbous at the top corners. The common feature in Italian Renaissance architecture of using more than one design for neighbouring column capitals is mirrored by the Bernheimer columns, of which two display only one leaf at each corner, whereas the other two capitals are composed of two bands of leaves. Their stylistic similarity to the columns at Revere corroborates the supposition that the Bernheimer columns originate from 15th-century Lombardy, if not Mantua itself. Most of the surviving columns at the Ducal Palaces in Mantua and Revere appear to be carved from pink Verona marble, yet the white limestone of the present columns, probably Istrian stone, is not unusual within a Lombard context, given Mantua’s vicinity to the Veneto and the Gonzaga rulers’ alliance with Venice.

Coats of arms incorporated into column capitals frequently appear in Italian Renaissance architecture. The foliate capitals of the Palazzo in Revere display the Gonzaga coat of arms, while some of the older column capitals at the front of the Mantuan Palace are decorated with an earlier version of the Gonzaga arms or those of the Bonacolsi family. The striking iconography of the coat of arms on the Bernheimer columns, featuring a dragon head swallowing a human hand grasping a sword, is reminiscent of the iconic coat of arms of the Milanese Visconti family, which depicts a dragon-snake swallowing a child. The Visconti coat of arms even makes an appearance on a column capital elsewhere in Mantua, having been part of the Gonzaga arms between 1389 and 1391 following Francesco I Gonzaga’s marriage to Agnese Visconti. Although the present coat of arms has not been identified, it is possible – if the columns are indeed from Mantua – that it belonged to a family with ties to the House of Gonzaga.

The four columns had pride of place in the Italian Courtyard at the Palais Bernheimer and are visible in the background of a photograph showing the Courtyard’s opening in 1910. In their current setting at Burg Marquartstein they have transformed the German medieval courtyard into the picturesque ruins of a Renaissance Palazzo.

RELATED LITERATURE
D. Chambers and J. Martineau (eds), Splendours of the Gonzaga, exh. cat. Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1981, pp. 28-30; G. Malacarne, Il Palazzo ducale di Mantova. Immagini da un sogno dinastico, Mantua, 1996; G. Clarke, Roman House - Renaissance Palaces. Inventing Antiquity in Fifteenth-Century Italy, Cambridge, 2003; http://www.stewardmantova.it/index.php/mantova/1-storia/1-7-la-mantova-dei-gonzaga

This lot remains in its current location in Germany where it will be available for viewing by prospective buyers by appointment with Sotheby’s, and for collection by the successful buyer at their own risk and expense following the sale of the lot. High resolution images of the lot are available on the Sotheby’s website, sothebys.com. Should you have any queries regarding the sale of this lot please contact Amelia Harris, Sale Administrator (amelia.harris@sothebys.com or +44 (0) 207 293 5502).