Lost Baroque masterpiece made by Trevi fountain sculptor found languishing in Wiltshire salvageyard
The two-foot marble model of Pope Clement XII was spotted stained, marked and covered in lichen by an eagle-eyed collector and bought for £300.
A marble sculpture and "lost masterpiece" created by an Italian sculptor known for the Trevi fountain in Rome is to go up for sale after being discovered at a salvage yard in Wiltshire.
Listen to this article
The two-foot-tall maquette of Pope Clement XII was spotted stained, marked and covered in lichen by an eagle-eyed collector and bought for £300.
The 68cm model made by Pietro Bracci is identical to a lost bronze version which once graced the hall of the Great Hall of the Palazzo Nuovo on the Capitoline in Rome.
But in 1798 the monumental bronze was melted down and lost forever. Until the discovery of the maquette the only surviving image was in an engraving.
Now, the "remarkable" marble model has breathed fresh life into a vanished Baroque masterpiece.
The model shows the Pope modelled enthroned wearing a triregnum (papal tiara) and a cloak with fine relief carved decoration, the architectural throne decorated with winged cherubs and scrolls.
Bracci was one of the leading sculptors of 18th Century Rome and is best known for carving the marble sculpture of Oceanus at the centre of the Trevi Fountain.
Bracci developed a distinctive style characterised by animated movement, rich surface treatment and a strongly pictorial handling of marble.
He was commissioned to execute a bronze portrait of Pope Clement XII, commemorating the pope’s donation to the Capitoline Museums.
The sculpture was funded by the Roman Senate and followed a successful marble portrait of Clement XII that Bracci had produced for the city of Ravenna.
The sculpture is estimated to fetch between £5,000 and £10,000 when it comes up for auction on the 8 October.
How it ended up in south west England remains a mystery.
