Spotlight on our collection of European bronzes

This week we would like to share with you our collection of European bronzes, from Renaissance to Neoclassical.

Bronze sculpture and works of art have been cast since early antiquity, being prized for their durability, tensile strength and tactility. They can also be mercury gilded, allowing dazzling gold surfaces to be added, as can be seen in a number of works in our collection.

From the Renaissance onwards, small bronzes based on antique prototypes were collected by European connoisseurs for their libraries or studioli, to highlight their erudition and interest in classical history and mythology. On the other hand, religious works of art in bronze were used for church decoration or as personal aids for Christian worship in portable altars, hand-held objects or jewellery. 

Highlights of our collection of European bronzes include:

• An important gilt bronze narrative relief, attributed to Barthélemy Prieur.

• A charismatic Renaissance bronze bust of the emperor Vitellius, After the Antique.

• An Italian Baroque bronze medal of a saint, late 17th / early 18th century

• An Italian gilt bronze relief of the Pietà, dating to the 18th or 19th century

Please click on the images below to find out more about each of these objects.