Francesco Guardi’s magnificent The Rialto Bridge with the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi is one of the celebrated pair of views of the Grand Canal at the Rialto, which are widely regarded as the most accomplished works of Guardi’s early maturity. Ambitious in scale and startlingly innovative both in design and pictorial mood, this work stands among the masterpieces of eighteenth-century European art. The picture is prominently signed and exceptionally well preserved, having been offered for sale only once in its history.

Cassoni, literally translated as ‘large chests’, were amongst the most prestigious and luxurious objects made for wealthy patrons in Renaissance Italy. Usually commissioned in pairs, Cassoni commemorated marriages between families, and were often used in the procession which took the bride from the house of her father to that of her husband. Their elaborate and expensive heraldic decoration also helped display the wealth and status of the patrons.