Orazio Albrizzi active 1612-1651

brownish patina beneath green-black lacquer

Prince Trivulzio, Milan; Heim Gallery, London

Heim Summer 1966, no. 46; Heim Summer 1967, no. 13; Heim Summer 1982, no. 16

Montagu 1996, p. 6, fig. 9 (illus.); Frankfurt am Main 1985, no. 319 (illus.)

With greenish-black opaque lacquer, some flaking; mottled surface. Some casting flaws and small apertures. Old repair and some repatination to front proper right leg of horse. Old repair and some repatination between shin and right knee on proper left leg of Marcus Aurelius. Casting crack around his proper left elbow. Very old, well-done repairs with pins at joints on horses legs. Standard surface abrasions and minor dents.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Orazio Albrizzi was a founder active first in Piacenza and then in Rome in the first half of the seventeenth century, and participated in the casting of Bernini's Baldacchino at St. Peter's.  He cast a number of models after Antique and Renaissance sculptures in large scale, similar to the size of the present bronze, including the Farnese Hercules, the Borghese Centaur, the Borghese Gladiator, Giambologna's Neptune, and the present Marcus Aurelius.  A group of bronzes by Albrizzi, including a version of Marcus Aurelius, appear in the inventory of the collection of the Marchesi Spinola in Genoa.  Several of these were inscribed similarly to the the present lot and a bronze figure of Germanicus formerly with Daniel Katz, Ltd in London also bears a similar inscription.