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Gaspare Di Girolamo Macrì
Attributed to

Pair of candlesticks, 16th century

Patinated bronze; 25x16x16 cm
This extraordinary pair of candlesticks must be compared with the identical one preserved in the Frick Collection, New York.
The provenance of the New York pair has been documented since the 1902 Christie's auction, which sold part of the bronze collection of Stefano Bardini, a great Italian antiques dealer whose bequest would later give rise to the Bardini Museum in Florence. The candlesticks came to Frik in 1916 through another very famous antiques dealer and connoisseur, Duveen.
Of uncertain attribution, we moved from Riccio (Andrea Briosco known as Riccio) to an unknown Venetian-Paduan founder and, finally, to the figure of Gasparo Macri, a Venetian artist active in Brescia.
A similar pair is preserved at the Louvre, initially attributed by Leo Planiscig to the Veneto area, and later to Gasparo, a Venetian founder. A signed and dated 1551 candlestick by the latter is preserved at the Poldi Pezzoli Museum in Milan. A similar example is also found at the Bargello National Museum.
The pair presented here also retains the original plates for snuffing out the candles, a rare detail that increases their historical and collectible value.

Biblical John Pope-Hennesy assisted by Anthony Radcliffe, Sculpture in The Frick Collection, Italian vol.III, New York, the Frick Collection, 1970, pp. 178-179.
Leo Planiscig "Gasparo Venetian founder" Art Bulletin XXVI 1932-33, pp 345-51.
23/02/2025 17:05:12
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Live auction 329

Placquettes, Medals, Sculptures and Ceramics from the 14th to the 19th century

Palazzo Caetani Lovatelli, wed 5 March 2025
SINGLE SESSION 05/03/2025 Hours 15:00