Lot 108
108
ITALIAN, 1490
ITALIAN, 1490
ITALIAN, 1490
1 More
ITALIAN, 1490
4 More
The VAT treatment will depend on whether you have … Read more
AN ITALIAN BRONZE LARGE MORTAR

DATED 1490

Details
AN ITALIAN BRONZE LARGE MORTAR
DATED 1490
inscribed SS. FRATELLI. LVCI. BONAVILLA. FECIT. 1490
14 ¼ in. (36 cm.) high; 38 in. (15 cm.) diameter
Provenance
The Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection; sold Sotheby's, London, 9 July 2009, lot 2.
Special notice
The VAT treatment will depend on whether you have registered to bid with an EU or non-EU address: If you register to bid with an address within the EU you will be invoiced under the VAT Margin Scheme. If you register to bid with an address outside of the EU you will be invoiced under standard VAT rules.

Brought to you by

Benedict Winter
Benedict Winter
+44 (0)20 7389 2203

Lot Essay

This unusual monumental Renaissance bronze mortar, formerly in the collection of the legendary polymathic collector Barbara Johnson, is decorated with parallel raised bands and a double swag to the centre. The inscription translates as ‘The Holy Brothers Fratelli Luci. Made by Bonavilla 1490’. 1490 is a pivotal year in the Italian Renaissance, the year of Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man.

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