Lot 123
  • 123

Italian, 18th century After the Antique

Estimate
25,000 - 40,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • The Furietti Centaurs
  • bronze
  • Italian, 18th century After the Antique

Provenance

Hugh Honour FRSL (1927-2016) and John Fleming (1919-2001), Villa Marchiò, Tofori, Tuscany, Italy

Condition

Overall the condition of the bronzes is good, with minor dirt and wear to the surfaces consistent with age. The bronzes are cast in sections, and a stable original joint is slightly visible at the younger centaur's proper right shoulder. The are a few very minor stable casting fissures, including to the older centaur's proper left front ankle. There are some minor nicks and scratches, notably to the older centaur's haunches. There is an area of denting to the younger satyr's proper left hand. There is some rubbing to the lacquer patina at the high points. There is minor general wear to the verde antico marble bases, including slight chips and abrasions at the edges.
"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."

Catalogue Note

The present bronzes are reductions of the monumental grey-black marble centaurs which were excavated together at Hadrian's Villa in December 1736. They owe their name to Monsignor Giuseppe Alessandro Furietti, in charge of the excavations at Tivoli. The centaurs were extensively restored, and have been recorded in their present condition as early as 1738-39. Forming the pièces de resistance of Furietti's collection, he refused to sell them, even when pressured by the then Pope Benedict XIV. It is said that the Pope was so enraged by this slight, that he refused to promote Furietti to the rank of Cardinal. However, after Furietti's death, Pope Clement XIII did secure them for the Capitoline Museum, where they remain to this day. Bronze reductions of the famous centaurs were very much in vogue amongst the Grand Tour travellers of the 18th century, and both Righetti and Zoffoli cast reductions. 

RELATED LITERATURE
F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique, The Lure of Classical Sculpture, 1500-1900, London, 1982, pp. 176-9

The Late Hugh Honour and John Fleming

This elegant collection of Grand Tour bronzes and marbles was formed by the art historians and Italophiles, the late Hugh Honour and John Fleming. Together they wrote the famous A World History of Art, still one of the standard texts for any aspiring art historian, whilst Honour’s witty Companion Guide to Venice (1965) is still enjoyed by visitors to the Serenissma to this day. Honour was a leading authority on Antonio Canova and Neoclassicism. In Honour’s obituary for the Burlington Magazine, Nicholas Penny writes that he was able to ‘transform the reputation of one of the greatest of all European artists’ and brought his elegant and reliable knowledge to an increasingly wider audience throughout his life.

The collection includes a rare autograph Caracalla by Francis Harwood, the British sculptor who lived in Florence, supplying high quality marbles to Grand Tourists and royalty, including Catherine the Great of Russia. The larger portion of the collection includes one of the most important groupings of Zoffoli bronzes to have come to market, the majority of which were published by Honour in his defining article on the Zoffoli workshop: 'Bronze Statuettes by Giacomo and Giovanni Zoffoli', The Conoisseur, November 1961 pp. 198-205.

Earlier this year Sotheby’s sold John Deare’s magisterial Eleanor and Edward from Hugh Honour and John Fleming’s collection, Treasures, 5 July 2017, lot 35. It is a great privilege for Sotheby’s to offer the wider collection of two of the most respected Italophile British art historians of the 20th century.