A builder who bought a marble statue from a reclamation yard for £300 is set to sell it for £100,000 after it was revealed to be the work of an Italian master sculptor.
asserted
it → buy → sculptor
The 290-year-old Italian marble maquette of Pope Clement XII Corsini was discovered by the eagle-eyed bargain hunter at a salvage yard in Wiltshire.
asserted
maquette → discover → Wiltshire
It had come from a country house near Andover in Hampshire and the yard owners thought the weathered sculpture was made of concrete.
asserted
sculpture → come → concrete
But the savvy collector thought there might be something special about it and his gamble is now set to pay off.
uncertain
gamble → think → it
The 26in figure was created by Italian Baroque master Pietro Bracci, who is best known for carving the central figure of Rome's iconic Trevi Fountain.
asserted
who → create → Fountain
He made the Pope maquette in preparation for a large bronze statue that once graced the Great Hall of the Palazzo Nuovo on the Capitoline in Rome.
asserted
that → make → Rome
The original statue no longer exists and this is believed to be the only surviving maquette, making it both rare and important.
asserted
it → exist → ?
The anonymous vendor has put it up for auction with Salisbury-based Woolley & Wallis.
asserted
vendor → put → Woolley
The 290-year-old Italian marble maquette of Pope Clement XII Corsini was discovered by an eagle-eyed bargain hunter at a salvage yard in Wiltshire
The 26in figure was created by Italian Baroque master Pietro Bracci, who is best known for carving the central figure of Rome's iconic Trevi Fountain
They have given the sculpture a pre-sale estimate of £10,000 but it could sell for ten times that as there has already been considerable international interest in it.
Mark Yuan Richards, Woolley & Wallis furniture specialist, said: 'This is an exceptionally exciting discovery.
uncertain
This → discover → it
To have a rare eighteenth-century marble figure of Pope Clement XII by Pietro Bracci come to light, and now be offered for sale, is a remarkable opportunity.
asserted
figure → come → sale
Bracci was one of the great sculptors of eighteenth-century Rome, and this extraordinary survivor offers a tangible connection to the world of the papal court and the artistic splendour of the period.
asserted
survivor → offer → period
The vendor is not a professional antiques dealer but he has got an eye for it.
asserted
he → get → it
He found it at a reclamation yard in the last couple of months.
asserted
He → find → months
They thought it was concrete so he bought it for £300 then realised it was marble.
asserted
it → think → 300
He had a feeling it was good, but he didn't know it was signed or how important it was.
'
asserted
it → have → feeling
The original bronze was melted down and the only known representation before this was an engraving of it.
asserted
representation → melt → it
How it ended up in a garden in Hampshire we don't know.
asserted
we → end → Hampshire
It might have been gifted to a Brit on a Grand Tour in the 18th century or a diplomatic gift for someone who knew the pope.
uncertain
who → gift → pope
We've had international interest already and it's still early days.
asserted
it → have → interest
It's hard to predict because Bracci works don't come onto the market hardly ever.
asserted
works → predict → market
Bracci was a key creative figure in 18th century Rome and had a distinguished career, also making portraits and tombs for Popes Benedict XIII and XIV.
asserted
Bracci → have → XIII
He was commissioned in 1736 to make the bronze, funded by the Roman Senate, to commemorate the pope's donation to the Capitoline Museums.
asserted
He → commission → Museums
Pope Clement XII restored papal finances and spearheaded a remarkable programme of artistic, architectural, and civic renewal during the decade that he governed, from 1730-1740, including the initiation of the Trevi Fountain.
asserted
he → restore → Fountain
The pope's bronze statue did not stay at the Palazzo Nuovo long.
asserted
statue → stay → Nuovo
It was subsequently moved and melted down during the First Republic in 1798.
asserted
It → move → 1798
Until the discovery of this marble maquette, the only known representation of the former bronze was an engraving by Stefano and Rocco Pozzi.
asserted
representation → know → Pozzi
The sculpture will be sold on October 8.
asserted
sculpture → sell → October
The Aporia
