An Italian Collecting Journey - Chapter II

Name: An Italian Collecting Journey - Chapter II | 2026 | Sotheby's
Start: 2026-03-25T14:00:00Z
Location: Milan

25 March - 25 March 2026 • Milan

•

Your local time • 14:00 PM GMT

An Italian Collecting Journey – Chapter II continues the narrative that began in September 2025, presenting the next chapter of this remarkable private collection with a Live and Online sale in Milan. While the first sales traced an extensive cultural vision of Italy through the landscapes and cities celebrated by the Grand Tour, this second chapter moves closer, focusing on the places, people and artistic traditions that shaped the country’s visual identity.

At the heart of the sale lies an important group of old master paintings, forming the core of this chapter. Landscapes and still lives reflect the richness of Italian pictorial traditions and the enduring fascination with nature and observation, while a number of intriguing portraits bring viewers face to face with the individuals who animated Italy’s social and cultural life. Within this group are three magnificent works that have been declared of cultural interest by the Italian State, underscoring their historical importance and exceptional quality.

The collection also includes a distinguished group of objects of vertu, bringing together a rich variety of materials, techniques, and stylistic traditions from across Italy during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Among these are intricate micromosaic representations of animals, Grand Tour sights, inlaid into Roman hardstone boxes, alongside Florentine pietre dure examples and Neapolitan tortoiseshell piqué work. This Italian Grand Tour in miniature, realised through the skill of mosaicists and lapidaries, is further complemented by a group of gold and enamel boxes.

A distinctive parenthesis is devoted to the medieval production of the Embriachi workshop, whose finely carved works represent one of the most fascinating chapters of late medieval craftsmanship.

Completing the sale is a carefully curated selection of furniture, decorative arts and porcelain, extending the narrative of the collection and reflecting the collector’s interest in the dialogue between all the arts.

Through this second chapter, the journey continues, offering a more intimate perspective on the artistic traditions that together form the rich fabric of Italy’s cultural heritage.

For assistance with bidding and registration, please contact / Assistenza per la registrazione all'asta:

enquiries@sothebys.com

IT +39 02 29500239

UK +44 (0)207 293 5000

US +1 212 606 7000

HK +852 2524 8121

For sale enquiries please contact / Per ulteriori informazioni, si prega di contattare:

Francesco Morroni

Senior Director Works of Art | Furniture | Ceramics

+39 02 29500 203

FRANCESCO.MORRONI@SOTHEBYS.COM

Mario Tavella