Lot Essay
Apart from the groups of Alexander and Bucephalus, the life-size equestarian bronze of Marcus Aurelius is the only important sculpture to survive from antiquity unburied. Its survival through the fall of paganism was probably aided by the rider's false identification as Constantine, the first Christian Emperor. The figure had been variously identified until the humanist Bartolomeo Platina, later librarian to Sixtus IV (1471-84), suggested an attribution to Marcus Aurelius. Nevertheless, this identification did not become universally accepted until about 1600. The bronze was one of the most admired antique statues and apart from numerous small copies in plaster, bronze and on intaglios and cameos, many large-scale versions were made - François I probably had one executed and sent to Fontainebleau. Ultimately almost every equestarian portrait statue is to some degree indebted to the Marcus Aurelius for inspiration.