A pair of Italian maiolica busts of Isabella and Ippolito d'Este, Minghetti factory, Bologna, last quarter of the 19th century

Doyle, New York, 23 September 2014, lot 438.

A. Minghetti, I ceramisti, Ferrara, 1992, p. 293.

ANGELO MINGHETTI (1822–1885)

Ceramicist and maiolica painter, born in Bologna in 1822. He founded the manufacture of Artistic Ceramics Minghetti in 1858. Upon his death, in 1885, the manufacture was inherited by his sons Gennaro and Arturo, who carried on the production well in the 20th century.

His passion for monumental sculpture led Angelo Minghetti to develop a series of busts, particularly of Roman Emperors, such as the pair depicting Tiberius and Caligola in the Victorian Albert Museum, conserved in the museum since 1885. The busts of Galba and Otto were sold by Christie’s in London, 17th March 2022, lot 40. The second subject in sculptural maiolica that Angelo Minghetti loved to explore is the series of famous royal figures of the 16th century, displaying all his virtuoso in the Renaissance revival style. For example, Sotheby’s London sold a pair of busts depicting Henry IV and Marie de Medici, 2nd of July 2013, lot. 145.

The manufacture Minghetti participated to the most important universal exhibitions, winning top prices and medals in the following years:

1870 in London, 1873 in Vienna, 1878 in Paris, 1888 in London, 1900 in Paris and 1902 in Turin. A Minghetti bust of Francesco Maria I della Rovere was sold at Sotheby’s, Paris, Palazzo Volpi Révélé, 28 February 2024, lot 138.

ISABELLA D'ESTE

Isabella d’Este (1474–1539), one of the most influential women of the Italian Renaissance, adopted the motto “Nec spe nec metu” (“Neither in hope nor in fear”), which epitomized the spirit with which she ruled Mantua as regent from 1519 to 1521. A renowned collector and patron of the arts, she commissioned works from leading Renaissance masters, including Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, and Andrea Mantegna. Isabella was also a fashion innovator, setting trends in dress that were imitated in the major courts of Europe.

IPPOLITO D'ESTE

Ippolito d’Este (1479–1520), son of Duke Ercole I d’Este of Ferrara, was directed early toward an ecclesiastical career, becoming cardinal in 1493 and archbishop of Milan in 1497. Alongside his church positions, he distinguished himself as a brilliant military commander, famously deploying the Este artillery to destroy the Venetian fleet on the Po River, which posed a direct threat to Mantua. The poet Ludovico Ariosto served under him from 1503 to 1517.