The two tin-glazed ceramic panels were originally purchased at an 1884 London auction by the prominent collector General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers. Following his death, the artifacts remained with his descendants in Dorset, South West England, where they were kept as ordinary hallway decor. The auction house sold the items as two separate lots after confirming they belong to a celebrated 39-panel series illustrating the life of Cyrus the Great. Remarkably, the fragile pieces endured decades of domestic display without losing their bright copper-lustre shades and vivid blue pigments.
Key points
The artworks resurfaced after the family emailed photographs directly to the auction hous…: The artworks resurfaced after the family emailed photographs directly to the auction house Woolley and Wallis.
The ceramics survived an unforgiving Renaissance glazing technique where applied pigments…: The ceramics survived an unforgiving Renaissance glazing technique where applied pigments could not be corrected.
Multiple generations of descendants possessed the plaques without realizing their true or…: Multiple generations of descendants possessed the plaques without realizing their true origin or institutional importance.
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Two 16th-century Italian Renaissance maiolica plaques that disappeared into a private collection in 1884 have sold for £100,000 at auction. The artworks were recently found hanging in the hallway of an English family home. The ceramic pieces were made in 1536 by well-known Italian artist Francesco Xanto Avelli. They had been hanging unnoticed for decades in a house in Dorset. The owners did not know their historical importance or value until they emailed a photograph to specialist auction house Woolley and Wallis in Salisbury, Wiltshire. The plaques were sold as two separate lots during a specialist auction of British and European ceramics. Together, they reached a total hammer price of £100,000, solving a mystery that had lasted 142 years.
Rediscovery in a Dorset hallway
The story of their return to the art market began when the owners decided to ask experts about the decorative plaques hanging on their wall. After looking at the digital photographs sent by the family, specialists at Woolley and Wallis quickly recognised the work of Xanto, one of the most famous ceramic artists of the Italian…
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